Dessert wine in South Africa by Andre P. Brink
Dessert Wine in South Africa (First Edition)
A Delightful Chronicle of Fact, Legend, and Anecdote Honoring the Cape’s Sweet Wine Heritage
A Delightful Chronicle of Fact, Legend, and Anecdote Honoring the Cape’s Sweet Wine Heritage
Bibliographic Specifications
• Title: Dessert Wine in South Africa
• Author: André P. Brink
• Publisher: Buren Publishers Ltd, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 1974
• ISBN-10: 0869630180
• ISBN-13: 9780869630181
• Edition Details: First Edition, Standard Hardcover Release.
• Binding: Original publisher's premium textured cloth-bound hardboards (typically deep red or brown) with crisp gilt-stamped typography, housed in the original illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 133–136 pages. Richly illustrated with high-contrast mid-century colour photography and historical black-and-white plates printed on high-grade coated paper.
• Language: English (Simultaneously released or translated from the Afrikaans equivalent).
• Title: Dessert Wine in South Africa
• Author: André P. Brink
• Publisher: Buren Publishers Ltd, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 1974
• ISBN-10: 0869630180
• ISBN-13: 9780869630181
• Edition Details: First Edition, Standard Hardcover Release.
• Binding: Original publisher's premium textured cloth-bound hardboards (typically deep red or brown) with crisp gilt-stamped typography, housed in the original illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 133–136 pages. Richly illustrated with high-contrast mid-century colour photography and historical black-and-white plates printed on high-grade coated paper.
• Language: English (Simultaneously released or translated from the Afrikaans equivalent).
Official Condition Report
• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+) / Near Fine
o Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth-bound hardboards are beautifully preserved, maintaining dead-flat squares, sharp edges, and tight joints. The spine remains rigid, vertically perfect, and structurally uncracked, holding its original firm profile without lean or compression.
o Interior: Pristine, immaculate, and tightly bound. The 133 internal pages are crisp and uniformly clean, completely free from page-turn thumb-soil, damp-staining, or severe age-toning. There are no internal highlighting lines, ink stamps, or library markings.
• The Dust Jacket: Very Good (VG)
o Condition Details: The original illustrated jacket is vibrant, bright, and mostly complete, showing only very limited, microscopically faint signs of edge-rubbing or minor surface handling consistent with its 1974 release. It has been meticulously preserved and is now protected from future atmospheric wear by a professional, removable clear cellophane archival cover.
• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+) / Near Fine
o Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth-bound hardboards are beautifully preserved, maintaining dead-flat squares, sharp edges, and tight joints. The spine remains rigid, vertically perfect, and structurally uncracked, holding its original firm profile without lean or compression.
o Interior: Pristine, immaculate, and tightly bound. The 133 internal pages are crisp and uniformly clean, completely free from page-turn thumb-soil, damp-staining, or severe age-toning. There are no internal highlighting lines, ink stamps, or library markings.
• The Dust Jacket: Very Good (VG)
o Condition Details: The original illustrated jacket is vibrant, bright, and mostly complete, showing only very limited, microscopically faint signs of edge-rubbing or minor surface handling consistent with its 1974 release. It has been meticulously preserved and is now protected from future atmospheric wear by a professional, removable clear cellophane archival cover.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1971–1974 during an incredibly prolific era of South African literature by Buren Publishers, Dessert Wine in South Africa stands as an uncommonly rare, beautifully crafted oenological history written by one of the country's most celebrated literary figures. Far from a dry commercial inventory, this volume is an artistic, deeply researched tribute to one of the most colourful, historic sectors of South African wine heritage. [1, 2]
Published in 1971–1974 during an incredibly prolific era of South African literature by Buren Publishers, Dessert Wine in South Africa stands as an uncommonly rare, beautifully crafted oenological history written by one of the country's most celebrated literary figures. Far from a dry commercial inventory, this volume is an artistic, deeply researched tribute to one of the most colourful, historic sectors of South African wine heritage. [1, 2]
André P. Brink meticulously records the origins, ancient traditions, and complex lore surrounding the Cape's sweet wines—paying a massive historical tribute to the global significance of Constantia's legendary dessert wines. Brink blends hard historical data with humoristic anecdotes, cultural snapshots, and architectural appreciation. Richly illustrated with vintage colour and monochrome photographs, this out-of-print gem functions as a vital, dual-value collectible: it is an essential primary reference for Cape viticultural historians and a scarce piece of non-fiction ephemera from a giant of South African letters.
Author Profile: André P. Brink
André P. Brink OIS (1935–2015) was a highly distinguished, internationally revered South African novelist, essayist, and academic who served as a Professor of English Literature at Rhodes University and the University of Cape Town. A leading figure in the Die Sestigers literary movement of the 1960s, Brink famously challenged social orthodoxy and state censorship, penning landmark anti-apartheid novels such as Looking on Darkness and A Dry White Season. He made history by writing his works simultaneously in English and Afrikaans, often performing his own self-translations. Over his legendary career, his rich contributions to prose and cultural documentation earned him multiple nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature, making any of his specialized 1970s non-fiction works highly prized by global bibliophiles and Africana collectors.
André P. Brink OIS (1935–2015) was a highly distinguished, internationally revered South African novelist, essayist, and academic who served as a Professor of English Literature at Rhodes University and the University of Cape Town. A leading figure in the Die Sestigers literary movement of the 1960s, Brink famously challenged social orthodoxy and state censorship, penning landmark anti-apartheid novels such as Looking on Darkness and A Dry White Season. He made history by writing his works simultaneously in English and Afrikaans, often performing his own self-translations. Over his legendary career, his rich contributions to prose and cultural documentation earned him multiple nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature, making any of his specialized 1970s non-fiction works highly prized by global bibliophiles and Africana collectors.
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