Ons Kerk in die Transgariep by Dr. G. B. A. Gerdener

Ons Kerk in die Transgariep (Collectible 1934 Dutch Reformed Church History)

A Landmark Afrikaans History of the Dutch Reformed Churches in Natal, the Free State and the Transvaal

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Ons Kerk in die Transgariep: Geskiedenis van die Ned. Geref. Kerke in Natal, Vrystaat en Transvaal
• Author: Dr. G. B. A. Gerdener
• Publisher: Die Suid-Afrikaanse Bybelvereniging, Kaapstad
• Publication Date: 1934
• ISBN: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era)
• Binding: Publisher's cloth-covered hardcover boards, lettered in black to the spine and front board, the front in blackletter.
• Physical Format: Large octavo-sized hardcover volume.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Boards: Yellow-orange cloth boards lettered in black. The back board is noticeably marked with pale blotchy spots and a darker stain near the centre, with a crease near the rear hinge. The spine is sound but slightly rubbed, with a small nick at the head and a small white mark by the author's name. The front board shows a lighter scuffed patch near the foot. The lower edge of the text block has chipped, worn paper edges.
• Interior: The pages are toned. The endpapers and flyleaf show light foxing, a small cluster of dark specks and a faint brown stain at the front hinge, and the front free endpaper has a hinge crease. The binding appears tight.
• Provenance: Pencil inscription to the front endpaper: 'J. S. Kriel Cafda June 1989'. An Ex Libris 'P. W. S. Schumann' stamp or print to a flyleaf, with an additional pencil mark partly visible.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Present

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Cape Town in 1934, Ons Kerk in die Transgariep (Our Church in the Transgariep) is a history of the Dutch Reformed Churches in Natal, the Free State and the Transvaal, written in Afrikaans by Dr. G. B. A. Gerdener.

The book has long served as a reference for the church history of the interior. Later scholars have drawn on it for church events of the 1860s, including the 1866 General Assembly decision in the South African Republic, for the Boer emigrant leader Sarel Cilliers, and for the attempts at synodal reunification around 1911, where Gerdener treats the Council of Churches as a consequence of the Anglo-Boer War.

For collectors of Afrikaner religious and cultural heritage, it is a substantial and useful volume, offered here as a used collectible copy with honest signs of age and previous ownership.

Author Profile: Dr. G. B. A. Gerdener

Gustav Bernhard Augustus Gerdener (1881-1967) was a South African theologian, professor and historian who died in Stellenbosch. He lectured at the Wellington mission institute from 1933 to 1937.

His other works include a 1930 compilation of early church documents, Boustowwe vir die geskiedenis van die Nederduits-Gereformeerde Kerk in die Transgariep, and a biography of Sarel Cilliers, first issued in 1919.