South African Literature from Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA

(London: Heinemann, 1950). 8vo; original brown cloth, lettered in red on spine and upper cover; no dustwrapper; pp. x + 339. Cover rather rubbed and corners turned; archival tape reinforcing to lower joint; spine cocked; earlier owner's name signed on front free endpaper; occasional fox spot. Fair condition. Historical novel concerning Coenraad Buys and descendants. "King of the Bastards was… Read more

(Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 2005) 0798145528. Translated by Elsa Silke. 213 x 136 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers (housed in removable protector); pp. 227. Trace of spotting to edges. Very good condition. "Originally published in Afrikaans in 1993 under the title Hierdie lewe, the novel was awarded the Hertzog Prize and the CNA Literary Award." .

(Johannesburg: Picador Africa, 2010) 9781770101739. 234 x 152 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. (viii) + 294. Sunned on spine; trace of spotting to top edge; earlier owner's name signed on half-title. Very good condition. "Eggs to lay, chickens to hatch is Chris van Wyk's second childhood memoir about growing up in Riverlea and his colourful interactions with the men and… Read more

(Cape Town: Zebra Press, 2005) 1770070958. 197 x 127 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. (vi) + 280. A little sunned on spine; earlier owner's name signed on half-title; occasional fox spot. Very good condition. "Set against the backdrop of slavery, colonialism, the Anglo-Boer War and the rise of apartheid, The People of Welgeval is a superbly crafted and dramatic historical… Read more

(Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society, 2009) 9780981426402. Second Series, Number 40. 8vo; dark brown cloth, lettered in gilt on spine and upper cover; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. xxx + 496; map; plates. Fine condition. "This complex and many-stranded life produced a rich harvest of varied and always-interesting letters, which provide unrivalled insight into his personality and his work.… Read more

(Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 2012) 9781868424955. English translation by Michiel Heyns. 8vo; original purple boards, lettered in white on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 710, incl. index; plates; ribbon markers. Fine condition. "This biography of JM Coetzee is the first to be written with the co-operation of Coetzee himself. With access to the writer, JC Kannemeyer was able to establish hitherto… Read more

(Cape Town: Double Storey, 2003) 1919930159. 245 x 170 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. (x) + 402; line drawings; photographs. Near-fine condition. "The Eastern Cape is a province of great natural beauty, historical interest and tourist potential, and it has evoked a wealth of literary responses. A Literary Guide to the Eastern Cape includes poems and prose extracts from imaginative… Read more

(Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1974) 0869750356. First edition of the 2003 Nobel literature laureate's first published book, containing two novellas. 8vo; original pale grey cloth; spine gilt; pictorial dustwrapper, housed in removable protector; pp. (x) + 134. A very good copy. Short edge-tears to top edge of dustwrapper's upper panel; small, neat ownership inscription to front free endpaper.… Read more

(Johannesburg: Ad. Donker, 1977) 094993738x. 8vo; original pink boards; pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 284; plates. Dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; spine very slightly cocked; trace of foxing to edges and endpapers. Good condition. "Vivid, vociferous, controversial, Sarah Gertrude Millin made a definite impression, whether favourable or unfavourable, on all who met her. As a novelist of some international standing in the… Read more

(Pietermaritzburg: printed by P. Davis & Sons, [ca 1912]). 210 x 168 mm; saddle-stitched pictorial wrappers; pp. 22. Wrappers rather foxed; some scattered foxing. Despite the title, the poems are all in English, and are accompanied by explanatory background information by the author. Exceedingly uncommon: OCLC finds just four repositories, all South African, holding this title. Lynn Lyster was the… Read more

(Cape Town: Juta, 1912). Crown 8vo; original red cloth blocked in gilt and black; pp. 259, incl. index; frontis. portrait. Backstrip a little tanned; edges a little browned; Very good condition. Besides the poems, which take up around two hundred pages, the book provides a "biographical sketch of fifty-four pages following Conder, Ritchie, the Narrative, and a few… Read more

(Pietermaritzburg: P. Davis & Sons, [ca 1912]). 210 x 168 mm; saddle-stitched pictorial wrappers; pp. 13. Wrappers detached but present, rather foxed; some scattered foxing. Exceedingly uncommon: OCLC finds just two repositories, both South African, holding this title. Lynn Lyster was the pseudonym of Major Thomas Leander Millar (1856-4925) "whose military career involved his serving in the office of the… Read more

(Johannesburg: Ad. Donker, 1987) 0868520349. 200 x 130 mm; pictorial wrappers; pp. 304. Wrappers very slightly rubbed, and sunned on spine; scattered foxing. Good condition. "Olive Schreiner always had an effect on people - no-one who encountered her was afterwards neutral about her. She was adored or thoroughly loathed. In this collection of letters, diaries and other… Read more

(London: Abelard-Schuman, 1966). Signed by the author on the title page, with his gift inscription, dated Christmas 1966, to front free endpaper. 12mo; original purple boards, lettered in gilt on upper cover; pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 32; illustrations by John Lawrence. Dustwrapper a little edgeworn; scattered foxing. Good condition. "Butler's poetry brings into clear focus qualities he has variously shown as… Read more

(East London: Wendy's Book Lounge, 2012) 9780620518406. Title page signed by compiler, with date and place. 4to; original orange boards; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pictorial endpapers; pp. (x) + xi + (i) + 86; photographs. Fine condition. "This document, which combines text and images, shows Dennis Brutus in action in the Eastern Cape, when he visited the institutions of his youth… Read more

(Cape Town: David Philip, 1982) 090839649X. 8vo; original brown cloth; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. xiv + 277, incl. index; black-and-white photographic plates. Trace of spotting to top edge. Very good condition. "Peter Alexander has written this biography with the full support of the poet's late widow, and he has been given access to all Campbell's papers. He examines… Read more

(London: Secker & Warburg, 1997) 0436204509. First edition. 8vo; original brown boards, lettered in gilt on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. (vi) + 166. Dustwrapper sunned on spine panel; spine a little cocked; merest trace of foxing to top edge. Very good condition. "Boyhood evokes the tensions, delights and terrors of childhood with startling, haunting immediacy. Coetzee examines his young… Read more

(London: Basil Blackwell / Cape Town: T. Maskew Miller, 1920). Crown 8vo; cloth-backed decorative papered boards; pp. (vi) + 161 + publisher's adverts.; line drawings. Cover tanned, with moderate wear to extremities; scattered, moderate foxing. Good condition. Well-known as a writer on social history, Margaret Whiting Spilhaus (1889-1981) also produced fiction and poetry. This work is… Read more

(Johannesburg: Jacana, 2008) 9781770095427. 234 x 154 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. (vi) + 154. Very good condition. "Cross Alexander McCall Smith with Philip Pullman and a hefty dose of Zakes Mda and you could get a sense of what travelling in Merrington's South Africa is like. Follow the exploits of the sangoma Malibongwe Ngingingini as he… Read more

(Cape Town: David Philip, 1998) 0864864280. 210 x 134 mm; pictorial wrappers; pp. xv + (i) + 255. Cover rubbed and a bit creased; price label scar to lower cover; trace of foxing to edges and outermost leaves. Good. "As Lionel Abrahams turns 70, South African writers salute his influence on their literary careers. This book… Read more