De Luxe copies of Primary Accounts of the KwaZulu-Natal Region (2)

These two volumes represent a fascinating intersection of 19th-century colonial documentation, early missionary ethnography, and the 20th-century golden age of South African book collecting. Both are rare primary accounts of the KwaZulu-Natal region that were rescued from obscurity by a legendary publisher.

C. Struik and the Africana Collectanea Series

Both books are De luxe, numbered editions of the facsimile reprints published by C. Struik (Pty) Ltd in Cape Town during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Struik was a pioneer in identifying crucial, nearly unobtainable 19th-century works on South African history and reproducing them in highly sought-after, numbered limited editions (typically restricted to between 750 and 1,000 copies) for serious bibliophiles and researchers.

Forty Years Among the Zulus by Rev. Josiah Tyler

The American Connection: First published in Boston and Chicago in 1891, this work is unique because Josiah Tyler was not a British colonial missionary, but an American sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). He arrived in Natal in 1849 and spent four decades in the field.

Ethnographic Value: Because Tyler operated somewhat outside the direct political machinery of British Natal, his records are highly valued by historians for their detailed, relatively objective recordings of Zulu laws, marriage customs, folklore, and everyday life during the reigns of Kings Mpande and Cetshwayo.

The Natal Papers by John Centlivres Chase

A Scarcity of the Original: Originally compiled and published in Grahamstown in 1843 by the notable 1820 Settler, politician, and intellectual John Centlivres Chase, the first edition is considered one of the rarest and most expensive cornerstones of early Natal history.

The Chronological Record of Conflict: The book serves as a vital documentary sourcebook, compiling official notices, letters, and public records tracing the history of the territory from its European charting in 1498 up to the exact moment of British annexation in 1843. It captures the frantic, high-stakes geopolitical tug-of-war over Natal between the British Empire, the Voortrekkers (who had established the short-lived Republic of Natalia), and the Zulu Kingdom.

Each book: 150 x 225

Both are suffering from dry rot.

R1,000 for both