from Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA

(Johannesburg: Hugh Keartland, 1964). 183 x 125 mm; saddle-stitched printed card wrappers; pp. 80. Wrappers somewhat soiled and foxed; a little foxing elsewhere. Good condition. Sixth, revised edition of a work first produced in 1951. A later edition of the same publication provides this background on the use of Fanagalo/Fanakalo: 'The lingua franca in common use on the mines is… Read more

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) 9780521739573. 228 x 151 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. xx + 378, incl. index; maps, illustrations, facsimiles in text. Fine condition. "Ocean of Letters is a remarkable history of imperialism, language, and creolization in the largest African diaspora of the Indian Ocean in the early modern period. Ranging from Madagascar to the Mascarenes, the Comores,… Read more

(Bonn: 1851). 8vo; brown boards; all edges gilt; pp. iv + 60 + (ii); tables. Backstrip fractured; upper hinge starting; moderate foxing. Exceedingly uncommon early treatise by this founding father of southern African philology. (Mendelssohn I, p. 132) "On 6.8.1851 he obtained his Ph.D. degree from Bonn University for his thesis on grammatical gender in the African languages. As with… Read more

(Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society, 2006) 0958513414. Second Series No. 37. 8vo; original dark brown cloth, lettered in gilt on spine, with gilt publisher's monogram to upper cover; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. xlv + (v) + 374, incl. index and publisher's catalogue; frontis.; maps; some illustrations. Near-fine condition. "Words of Batswana presents a selection of letters and… Read more

(Lovedale: The Lovedale Press, 1959). 184 x 124 mm; printed wrappers; pp. 64. Crease to upper cover; occasional fox spot. Good condition. (Murphy and Goff, A Bibliography of African Languages and Linguistics, 1109 [1961 revision]). .

(Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1975) 0195700694. 8vo; original blue and white cloth; dustwrapper; pp. xx + 196. Dustwrapper somewhat browned and very slightly edgeworn; a little foxing. Good to very good condition. "This most unusual and exciting dictionary lists vocabulary, idiom and pronunciation used by English speakers in South Africa; there are many words and phrases… Read more

(Pietermaritzburg & Durban: P. Davis and Sons, 1903). 183 x 125 mm; side-stitched wrappers; pp. 51. Cover a little soiled, and torn, with loss to upper cover; some foxing. Good condition. Oddly, the cover gives 1903 as the year of publication, whereas the title page has 1902. (Strange Collection, 1141 [1892 edition]; Doke, p. 96 [Later editions];… Read more

(Pietermaritzburg & Durban: P. Davis and Sons, 1903). 183 x 125 mm; side-stitched wrappers; pp. 51. Archival tape reinforcing to spine; earlier owner's name signed on upper cover and Contents page; a little foxing and curling. Good condition. Oddly, the cover gives 1903 as the year of publication, whereas the title page has 1902. (Strange Collection,… Read more

(New York: Gramercy Books, 2007) 9780517229217. 8vo; original yellow boards; laminated dustwrapper; pp. xxvii + (v) + 171. Dustwrapper very slightly rubbed; tiny bump to bottom edge of lower board. Very good condition. "From Adoa to Zahara offers more than a thousand names from African life, lakes and rivers, towns and cities, and words in many different… Read more

(Cape Town: Juta & Co., 1921). 185 x 123 mm; printed wrappers; pp. 106. Some rust marks to upper cover; chip to fore-edge of upper wrapper, with archival tape repair to reverse side; slightly frayed at head of spine; some foxing and regular, light browning. Good. (Strange Collection, 1168; Doke, p. 252; SABIB 4, p. 703) … Read more

(Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1954). 190 x 140 mm; printed card wrappers; pp. 281. Pages unopened and wrappers a little sunned. Good condition. (Murphy & Goff, 436 [1st edition]) Title page gives 1913 as the date of publication, but the upper wrapper has 1954. Bambara is a language spoken by around 3 million inhabitants… Read more

(Mariannhill Mission Press, 1945). 16mo; original reddish cloth, lettered in black to spine and upper cover; pp. 475. Cloth rather mottled and a little rubbed; earlier owner's name signed on front free endpaper; regular browning; occasional spotting and faint soiling. Good. (Doke, p. 51 [1st edition]; Strange Collection 1132 [Earlier edition]; Murphy & Goff 1099 [Later edition])… Read more

(London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1904). Demy 8vo; original red cloth, lettered in gilt on spine, and in blind to upper cover; pp. viii + (ii) + 177, incl. index. Cloth mottled and stippled, and worn at extremities; edges and outer leaves foxed, some spotting elsewhere; some annotations. Fair to good. (Strange Collection 1164 [Earlier… Read more

([London]: Religious Tract Society for the Morija Sesuto Book Depot, 1915). 8vo; original black cloth, lettered in gilt on spine; pp. viii + 284. Cloth fishmothed; a little spotting. Good condition. (Strange Collection 716; Doke, p. 85) Uncommon: OCLC finds just two American repositories, and one South African copy. The book of Revelation explained in… Read more

(Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter, no date). 12mo; cloth-backed papered boards; pictorial endpapers; pp. 120; line drawings. Boards a bit rubbed and slightly soiled; Hermannsburg Seminary ink stamp to half-title; some minor foxing. Good. Translation in isiZulu of Geraldine Elliot's African folk tales, with the charming Sheila Hawkins illustrations. .

(Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter, no date c. 1930s). 180 x 120 mm; card wrappers; pp. 68 + x . Wrappers fragmented and detached. Fair condition. Strange Collection #1171 records this edition. .

(Pretoria: Communications of the University of South Africa C59, 1968). 212 x 140 mm; original cream card wrappers; pp. 24. Very good condition. Analysis of the adoption of foreign words into Zulu. .

(Cape Town: Tafelberg, 1997) 0624034801. Zulu translation by Sipho Ndlovu. 4to; laminated pictorial boards; unpaginated (pp. 32); charming full-colour illustrations. As new. Zulu translation of the delightful children's story 'Lulama's Magic Blanket'. "ULulama unengubo yokulala ethungwe ngeziqephu yenziwa ngomlingo othile oyimfihlo. Uma edlala ngayo ngaphandle, ikwazi ukuphenduka ibe yinoma yini acabanga ukuthi iyiyona ... "… Read more

(Cape Town: Tafelberg, 1997) 062403481X. Zulu translation by Sipho Ndlovu. 4to; laminated pictorial boards; unpaginated (pp. 32); charming full-colour illustrations. As new. A delightful children's story about a boy and a pig. Zulu text. "UMusa ufuna isipho azosinika unina, futhi unesikhwama somlingo azosifaka kusona lesi sipho. Izinto azihambi ngendlela acabanga ngayo, kodwa yize kunjalo,… Read more

(London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1913). Demy 8vo; original green cloth, with upper cover lettered in blind, and spine gilt-lettered; pp. xviii + 579. Cloth rather stippled, and spine browned; penned quotation from Goethe to front free endpaper; rather foxed and somewhat browned throughout; damp-stain to fore-edge. Fair condition. (SABIB 3, p. 661) Concerning Charles Pettman… Read more