Somerset Playne’s Cape Colony 1910–11 Inscribed (1911)

This volume—Somerset Playne’s Cape Colony (Cape Province): Its History, Commerce, Industries, and Resources (1910–11)—captures a crucial, transitional moment in South African history, made all the more notable by this specific presentation copy.

A Snapshot of Political Transition

The publication date (1910–11) sits right at the birth of the Union of South Africa, established on May 31, 1910. The title page itself reflects this shift: while titled Cape Colony, it includes the parenthetical (Cape Province), marking the exact moment the self-governing British colony was reconstituted as a province within the newly formed Union.

The Author & "Vanity" Publishing Model

Somerset Playne, F.R.G.S., was an itinerant compiler who produced lavishly illustrated, monumental reference works on various parts of the British Empire (including East Africa, Ceylon, Southern India, and New Zealand).

Subscription-Based Inclusion: Playne’s business model relied heavily on local patronage. He traveled extensively across regions, securing subscriptions and profile submissions from prominent local farmers, merchants, town councils, and estate owners.

Archival Value: Because families and businesses paid to be featured, these volumes contain photographic documentation, farm histories, and commercial portraits that exist nowhere else in official state records.

The Presentation Inscription

The handwritten inscription on the flyleaf: "Presented to the Club by Somerset Playne" (dated 1911 and noted as "Inscribed by the author")—is a classic example of Playne’s promotional circuit. Upon completing these massive, gilded gift books, he routinely presented inscribed copies to prestigious gentlemen's clubs, municipal libraries, and commercial exchanges in the towns he covered to secure goodwill and future sales.

Together, the imprint of J.C. Juta & Co. in Cape Town and the Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Co. in London represents the classic imperial publishing partnership of the Edwardian era, catching the Cape at the precise dawn of Union.

255mm x 315mm x 52mm

Full leather; gilded; wear to corners and edges. Prelims have slight foxing. 792 pages. Complete.

R4,500