The African World Annual
1919-1920
Lacking original wrappers
230mm x 335mm x 29mm
R1,000
The African World Annual (1919–1920) was a prominent, highly illustrated, large-format special publication produced by The African World, a influential London-based weekly newspaper founded in 1902 by Leo Weinthal.
Published immediately following the conclusion of World War I, this specific edition served as both a historic retrospective on Africa's strategic contributions to the Allied victory and a commercial blueprint for post-war British imperial expansion, trade, and infrastructure development across the continent.
Key Historical & Commercial Context
Post-WWI Reorganization: The 1919–1920 volume captures a critical transition period. It details the shifting colonial borders, the implementation of League of Nations mandates over former German colonies (such as German South-West Africa and German East Africa), and the economic demobilization after the war.
The "Cape-to-Cairo" Vision: A central theme of The African World under Leo Weinthal's editorship was the ambitious imperial dream of connecting Cairo to Cape Town via railway, telegraph, and aviation routes. The 1919–1920 annual heavily featured progress, surveys, and maps promoting this transcontinental integration.
Economic focus: Designed to appeal to financiers, mining magnates, colonial administrators, and investors, the publication provided detailed industrial profiles on gold, diamond, copper, and coal mining, alongside agricultural developments (cotton, rubber, timber, and citrus exports).
Content and Structural Highlights
Military & Colonial Retrospectives: Features extensive photographic essays and articles documenting African colonial troops, the East African Campaign, and the logistical roles played by South African, West African, and East African units during 1914–1918.
Regional Surveys: Dedicated sections covering distinct territorial interests:
South Africa & Rhodesia: Financial reviews of the Witwatersrand gold fields, De Beers diamond mines, and municipal/industrial growth in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Salisbury.
East & West Africa: Focus on British East Africa (Kenya), Uganda, Nigeria, and the Gold Coast, emphasizing trade opening up after wartime shipping restrictions.
Egypt & The Sudan: Infrastructure, cotton production, and Nile irrigation developments.
Former German Territories: Early surveys of the economic potential and transitional governance of the newly mandated territories.
Period Advertising: Richly illustrated with hundreds of contemporary advertisements from major steamship lines (Union-Castle, British India Line), mining conglomerates, engineering firms, agricultural equipment manufacturers, and luxury consumer goods tailored for colonial expatriates.
