Francis Grose’s “A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,” Published in 1785
R16,000

Thirty years after Samuel Johnson attempted to purify and standardize "polite" English in his 1755 dictionary, Captain Francis Grose set out to record everything Johnson deliberately omitted. Grose documented the unvarnished vernacular of London’s underworld, taverns, brothels, and docks.

The 1785 imprint printed for S. Hooper at No. 212 High Holborn (referenced by the pencil note citing Lowndes’ Bibliographer's Manual) represents the true first edition. It was published anonymously, as Grose initially kept his name off the title page to protect his standing as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. While later editions (such as the 1788 second edition) were expanded, the 1785 original remains the scarcer and most historically significant printing.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/first-editions/dictionary-of-the-vulgar-tongue-1785

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There are currently 30 books in this category.

"On the Genders of Nouns in the Languages of Southern Africa." By Wilhelm Bleek (1851)
R10,000

This is an exceptionally significant document in the history of African linguistics; a copy of Wilhelm Bleek’s doctoral dissertation, published in Bonn in 1851.

Bleek's thesis caught the attention of prominent figures, eventually leading him to Natal in 1855 (initially working with Bishop Colenso) and later to Cape Town. This path ultimately led to his monumental work with Lucy Lloyd in recording the |Xam and !Kun Bushman languages and folklore—now a UNESCO Memory of the World.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/books-on-africa/on-the-genders-of-nouns-1851

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There are currently 45 books in this category.

Paul Kruger’s Memoirs, Judge Kotze Association copy (1902)
R8,500

This is a 1902 first edition of Paul Kruger’s memoirs (Gedenkschriften van Paul Kruger). What makes it even more remarkable is that it served as a literal battleground for historical truth between two of the most powerful and antagonistic figures in the late South African Republic (ZAR), President Paul Kruger and Chief Justice John Gilbert Kotzé.

Instead of just a standard copy of a well-known Boer War-era memoir, this book is a primary source document in its own right—capturing a deposed Chief Justice using his retirement to cross-examine his old rival from beyond the grave.

The Kruger signature is printed.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/boer-war/paul-krugers-memoirs

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There are currently 42 items in this category.

Captain John Smith by Jeremy Belknap (c.1805)
R6,500

The text was extracted directly from American Biography (first published in 1794 in Boston) by Jeremy Belknap, D.D. (whose name is misspelled as "Jeremy Bilknap" on this London title page). Belknap was a prominent clergyman, historian, and a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He wrote the life of Captain John Smith as part of an effort to establish a formal, evidence-based biographical archive for early American history.

While Belknap’s original work was a substantial, academic multi-volume set aimed at scholars, British street publishers quickly pirated and condensed individual chapters into cheap, unbound softcover pamphlets sold for sixpence. It was marketed not as serious historiography, but as a sensational adventure tale ("Containing his TRAVELS... As a SOLDIER and a SAILOR equally brave...") for the popular reading public.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/books-rest-of-the-world/captain-john-smith

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There are currently 23 books in this category.

Der Kilima-Ndjaro (The Kilimanjaro Expedition) Harry Hamilton Johnston (1886 authorized German edition)
R5,000

While Johnston’s 1884 expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro was funded by British scientific bodies ostensibly to study the region's flora, fauna, and anthropology, it carried an immense political undercurrent.

During his stay, Johnston concluded treaties with local Chagga chiefs, notably Mandara of Moshi. He hoisted the British flag, effectively attempting to secure the Kilimanjaro region for the British Empire. This German translation, rushed to print by Brockhaus in 1886, hit the shelves the same year the British and German empires signed a crucial delimitation treaty. In that agreement, Britain relinquished its claims to the Kilimanjaro territory, ceding it to the German sphere of influence (which became German East Africa).

For more details and images, go to the website:
https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/east-africa/der-kilima-ndjaro

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There are currently 9 items in this category (New)

The Sportsman in South Africa by James A. Nicolls and William Eglington (1892)
R4,500

This work was among the first field guides designed not just as a narrative of adventure, but as a systematic reference on the distribution, habits, and conservation status of Southern African wildlife to encourage regulated "sportsmanship" over commercial annihilation.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/hunting/the-sportsman-in-south-africa-1892

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There are currently 41 items in this category.

Armenian Psalter (Book of Psalms), printed in Venice - San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Saint Lazarus) 1805
R3,500

Printed "’Ի ՎԵՆԵՏԻԿ" (In Venice) at "՚Ի Վանս Սրբոյն Ղազարու" (The Monastery of Saint Lazarus).

This was the headquarters of the Mechitarist Congregation, an order of Armenian Catholic monks founded by Abbot Mechitar of Sebastea. Having fled Ottoman persecution, they were granted this small, isolated Venetian island in 1717.

Turned into a powerhouse of intellectual revival, the monks set up a highly sophisticated printing press to produce religious, historical, and scientific texts in classical Armenian (Grabar). Because Armenia itself was divided and under foreign rule, San Lazzaro became a safe haven that effectively safeguarded and standardized the Armenian language and its literary heritage for centuries.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/religion/armenian-psalter-1805

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There are currently 25 items in this category.

H.P. Holt’s The Mounted Police of Natal, Ex libris Killie Campbell (1913)
R3,000

Margaret Roach "Killie" Campbell (1881–1965) was one of South Africa’s most formidable and passionate collectors of Africana, cultural artifacts, and historical manuscripts.

Over her lifetime, she built an unparalleled library documenting the history of Southeast Africa, Zulu culture, and the colonial history of Natal.

Her family home in Durban, Muckleneuk, along with her massive collection, was bequeathed to the University of Natal (now UKZN). Today, the Killie Campbell Africana Library is globally renowned as a premier research archive for Southern African history.

For more info and images, go to the website:
https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/kwazulu-natal/hp-holts-the-mounted-police-of-natal

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There are currently 31 items in this category.

A Guidebook for Passengers to North, East and South Africa by the D.O.A line edited by Leo Weinthal (1902)
R3,000

The "D.O.A. Line" stands for the Deutsche Ost-Afrika-Linie (German East Africa Line), established in 1890. Imperial Germany realized that if it wanted to maintain its African colonies (like German East Africa, modern-day Tanzania) and compete with British dominance, it couldn't rely on British shipping lanes.

Backed by heavy subsidies from the German government, the D.O.A. Line launched a highly successful "Rund um Afrika" (Round-Africa) service. Their state-of-the-art steamships circumnavigated the continent—sailing down the West Coast, stopping in Cape Town, and heading back up via the East Coast, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean (and vice versa). This guidebook was handed to affluent passengers undertaking that grand, multi-month voyage.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/transport/a-guidebook-for-passengers

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There are currently 26 items in this category.

First edition of George McCall Theal’s Chronicles of Cape Commanders (1882)
R2,000

The Birth of Organized Cape Archives

Before Theal came along, the massive repository of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) records in Cape Town was in a state of utter neglect. They were uncataloged, gathering dust, and falling apart.

In the late 1870s, the Cape Government appointed a commission to look into them, and Theal—who was working as a clerk in the Native Affairs Department but had a passion for history—was eventually appointed "Keeper of the Archives." * Chronicles of Cape Commanders represents some of the earliest systematic, published fruit of that labor. It was printed by W.A. Richards & Sons, who held the official contract as "Government Printers" on Castle Street at the time.

For more details and images, go to the website: https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/the-cape/chronicles-of-cape-commanders-1882

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There are currently 55 items in this category.

Fake News & Banned Books

James Findlay will share stories about banned books from his private collection, ‘fake news’ from 1801 and other fascinating anecdotes that illuminate the joy of collecting rare books, maps and documents.
This is the same talk that James gave on 16 July.

Date: Sunday, 6 September, 2026.
Time: 10h00
Venue: The Patio at Rawdons Hotel. Nottingham Road, KwaZulu-Natal
Price: R120 per person, tea, scones and sandwiches.
Booking essential. Tickets through Quicket.

For more information contact
James Findlay
+27 (0) 79 779 4574
jamesfindlaycollectablebooks@gmail.com

New Stock is being added to the website daily:
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