About our collections
Africana
The collection
- Africana books are mainly associated with sub-Saharan Africa and its history.
- The collection preserves works dating from the 17th century, but is also continually augmented with new acquisitions reflecting current history.
- The section strives to build a collection relevant to current academic research and collects works worthy of preserving for the future.
- The comprehensive Africana collection available in this section today is largely based on the unique and valuable Hugh Solomon library which was bequeathed to Stellenbosch University in 1957. Hugh Ross Solomon (1876-1956) was a Johannesburg lawyer who for many years added to the Africana collection which he had inherited from his father, Sir Edward Philip Solomon.
“When we speak of Africana we mean to imply all those objects large and small, natural and man-made, that relate to the history of Africa and of Southern Africa in particular … More specifically, we think of Africana in terms of human settlement in the sub-continent – but always in terms of history and the living past.” (Adventures in Africana by Douglas Varley. Cape Town : University of Cape Town, 1949).
Focus areas
- 18th- and 19th-century traveller’s journals and other early views of Africa.
- African maps published before 1860.
- All aspects of South African history.
- History of Stellenbosch
- South African War 1899-1902 (Anglo-Boer War).
- South African art and artists.
Rare books
The collection
- Books, rare and unique in terms of scarcity, age, value, physical appearance and subject matter are collected.
- The collection preserves books dating from the 15th century upto the present day on a variety of subjects, including art, the sciences, religion, history, literature and popular culture.
- The rare books section was established in the late 1960s to provide for the safekeeping of valuable art books and other rare materials.
- When the University acquired the extensive library of the late Commander Michael Scott the collection was enriched by many first editions, leather-bound volumes and other treasures
Focus areas
- Rare bindings
- Antiquarian books (various subjects)
- Art through the ages, including a comics collection
- First and limited editions of English literature
- Kruger Collection of first editions of Afrikaans literature of the 20th century
- Rare children’s books
Manuscripts
The collection
- More than 400 collections of individuals and institutions.
- The Manuscripts section, in collaboration with Library Senior Management, will consider donations of original manuscript material of individuals and institutions with research value.
- With donations, a donor agreement between the Library and Information Service and the donor must be signed.
- This section strives to build a collection relevant to current academic research and collects works within its focus areas, worthy of preserving for the future.
- Manuscript collections are sorted, fully indexed and catalogued and finding aids for the collections (inventories and catalogues) are available in the section.
Focus areas
- Afrikaans literature and language
- South African cultural history
- South African political history
- Journalism and the South African Press
- History of Stellenbosch University. See SU Archives
- South African War 1899-1902 (Anglo-Boer War)
- South African art and artists