Aristotle, James Bond, 1820 Settlers, Union Jack, Wopko Jensma and more. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Rare and Collectable Artwork, Documents, Maps and Posters

May 2026

 

Movie Poster: James Bond From Russia with Love (c1970’s)
R15,000

This is a highly compelling piece of cinematic and social history. While it features the iconic artwork for the 1963 James Bond classic From Russia with Love, this poster is a fascinating cultural artifact because it is a uniquely South African release printing with a complex story behind it.

See more images and details on the website:
https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/posters/james-bond-from-russia-with-love-c1970s

See more Posters on the website.
There are 41 posters in this category (Movies, Exhibitions, Travel and Political Posters)

 

A Page from Aristotle’s De Caelo et Mundo (On the Heavens) c.1500
R10,000

Incunabula.
"LIBER PRIMVS" (Book One) of "DE CELO ET MVNDO" is Aristotle's fundamental cosmological treatise where he discusses the nature of the universe, the celestial bodies, and the concept of infinity.
The Latin text deals with one of Aristotle's most famous arguments: the impossibility of an infinite body or infinite motion, exploring the relationship between time, distance, and force, using variables (like a, b, g, d) to demonstrate that if a body were infinite, it could not move in a finite time.

See more images and details on the website:
https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/science-maths/aristotles-de-caelo-et-mundo1500

See more on Science & Maths on the website (New)
There are 5 items in this category.

 

Letter from 1820 Settler John Centlivres Chase (1827)
R10,000

Manuscript letter to James Sharpe Esq., Gunpowder Office, Birchin Lane, London.

This is an exceptional example of an 1820 Settler "Crossed Letter," written from the Albany District (Eastern Cape) in June 1827.

The letter is not just a historical document but a testament to the practicalities of 19th-century postal costs. To save on postage, which was charged per sheet, the author wrote the initial letter, then turned the page 90 degrees and wrote across the existing text.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/the-cape/letter-from-1820-settler-jc-chase-1827

See more on The Cape on the website.
There are 48 items in this category.

 

Southern Africa by Petrus Bertius c.1618 (Archival framing)
R7,500
 

An exceptional example of early 17th-century miniature cartography. "Africa pars meridional" (Southern Africa) plate, under the header "Descriptio Æthiopiæ Inferioris", engraved by Petrus Bertius for his celebrated pocket atlas, the Tabularum Geographicarum Contractarum.

Page number 640 from the 1616 Latin edition published in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius. The maps in this edition are celebrated for their remarkably crisp, detailed engraving despite their tiny size.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/maps-of-southern-africa/by-petrus-bertius-c1618

Given the variety of Antique Maps on the website, we have created separate categories for Maps of Africa, Maps of Southern Africa, Maps of the Rest of the World and World maps. (Work in progress).

 

Mourning Card: Burial of the Union Jack in Pretoria following the British defeat in the First Anglo-Boer War (1881)
R7,500
 

Following the British defeat at the Battle of Majuba Hill in February 1881, the British government under William Gladstone negotiated a peace treaty known as the Pretoria Convention. The treaty restored self-government to the South African Republic (the Transvaal), effectively ending the short-lived British annexation that had begun in 1877.

To the British loyalists and soldiers stationed in Pretoria, this treaty felt like an absolute betrayal. On August 2, 1881, the day before the convention was formally signed, a crowd of incandescent loyalists, led by figures like the prominent local businessman R.C. Williams, staged a mock funeral in Pretoria and buried the Union Jack.

See more images and details on the website:
https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/boer-war/mourning-card-burial-of-the-union-jack-in-pretoria-1881

See more on the Boer War on the website.
There are 37 items in this category.

 

Poster: No to the Labour Bill designed by Patrick Cockayne (1988)
R4,000
 

The poster was designed by Patrick Cockayne, a dedicated media worker for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

The "Special Congress" advertised for May 14–15, 1988, in Johannesburg wasn't just a routine meeting—it was a historic catalyst. At this very congress, COSATU called for a massive national protest against the government's draconian laws.

This resulted in the largest national "stay-away" (strike) in South African history up to that point. From June 5 to 7, 1988, between 2.5 and 3 million Black workers refused to go to work, completely paralyzing the South African economy and demonstrating the immense, unstoppable power of organized labor.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/politics/no-to-the-labour-bill-designed-by-patrick-cockayne-1988

See more on Politics on the website.
There are 55 items in this category.

 

Angolan Women's Day by the MPLA (1985)
R4,000
 

"2 DE MARÇO" (March 2nd) commemorates Angolan Women's Day. This date honors the 1967 death of Deolinda Rodrigues and her companions, who were members of the OMA (Organization of Angolan Women) captured and killed during the struggle for independence.

The Dual Role of Women: The poster depicts women in two capacities: as a civilian/mother holding a torch (symbolizing enlightenment and progress) and as a soldier with a rifle (symbolizing the ongoing defense of the revolution).

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/posters/angolan-womens-day-by-mpla-1985


See more Posters on the website.
There are 41 posters in this category (Movies, Exhibitions, Travel and Political Posters)

 

Railway Altitudinal & Production Map of Natal by J. Forsyth Ingram (1893)
R3,000

Late-Victorian industrial cartography by J. Forsyth Ingram.

Ingram was a well-known writer, explorer, and booster for the colony, and this specific map was compiled with the assistance of the General Manager of Railways and the Surveyor General’s Departments. It was designed to showcase the colony’s economic viability right as it stood on the precipice of major political change.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/kwazulu-natal/railway-altitudinal-production-map-of-natal-1893


See more on Kwa-Zulu Natal on the website (new)
There are 12 items in this category

 

Poetry Exhibition Pamphlet, Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Signed by Wopko Jensma (1972)
R2,500
 

Wopko Jensma was a significant figure in the South African "vernacular conceptualist" movement.
He was an anti-apartheid activist who faced a banning order from the National Party, which severely restricted his ability to earn a living.

His life ended in mystery; he was last seen in 1993 at the Johannesburg Salvation Army Men's hostel.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/theatre-and-poetry/poetry-exhibition-pamphlet-hillbrow-johannesburg-signed-by-wopko-jensma-1972

See more on Theatre & Poerty on the website.
There are 15 items in this category.

 

The Deka River and Valley, After Thomas Baines (1869)
R2,000
  

Hand coloured woodcut from The Illustrated London News.

"Daka" refers to the Deka River and valley, located in modern-day western Zimbabwe, near the town of Hwange. In the 19th century, this area was a crucial, well-known staging post for European explorers, hunters, and traders heading toward the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls (which David Livingstone had famously documented for the Western world just over a decade earlier in 1855).

Baines frequently supplied highly detailed sketches and accompanying journal notes to The Illustrated London News. The layout of this scene—painstakingly detailing the architecture of the ox-wagons, the campfires, the specific dress of the local inhabitants, and the surrounding flora—is classic Baines.

See more images and details on the website:

https://jamesfindlaycollectablebooks.com/zimbabwe-rhodesia/the-deka-river-and-valley-located-in-modern-day-zimbabwe-after-thomas-baines-1869

See more on Zimbabwe & Rhodesia on the website.
There are 33 items in this category

 

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James Findlay Collectable Books
Nottingham Road
Kwa-Zulu Natal
South Africa

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