The White Wines of South Africa by W. A. de Klerk
The White Wines of South Africa By W. A. de Klerk (Collectible First Edition Copy)
An Evocative, Historically Crucial Account of a Renowned South African Writer's Journey Through the Cape Winelands
An Evocative, Historically Crucial Account of a Renowned South African Writer's Journey Through the Cape Winelands
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The White Wines of South Africa
- Author: W. A. de Klerk (Willem Abraham de Klerk)
- Publisher: A.A. Balkema, Cape Town / Amsterdam
- Publication Date: 1967
- ISBN-10: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era Historic Africana)
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing (Collectible Wine Literature Milestone)
- Binding: Original publisher's premium cloth boards, complete with the original illustrated dust jacket, now beautifully preserved and stabilized inside a clear Cellophane archival sleeve.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 110 pages. Artistically enhanced with classic monochrome photographic plates, localized vineyard maps, and intimate literary sketches of the early Cape cellars.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth casing remains structurally robust, exceptionally flat, and square-cornered. Gilt spine text is perfectly crisp and untarnished. Shows light, minimal age-appropriate storage shelf friction along the lower edges, entirely consistent with a well-preserved 1960s reference masterpiece.
- Interior: The inner hinges and binding are pristine, tight, and highly sound. Internal pages are clean, crisp, and intact, showing zero consumer ink underlining, dealer pricing inscriptions, or loose leaves.
- Preservation: Meticulously looked after, carefully maintained, and now fully stabilized in a premium Cellophane sleeve to shield the binding from future edge wear.
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The Dust Jacket: Very Good Minus (VG-)
- Condition: Present, complete, and unclipped. Displays standard, limited signs of age-related vintage wear and tear, including minor edge rubbing, light surface scuffing, and superficial creasing along the spine ends and perimeter joints. Now safely consolidated, bright, and seamlessly showcased beneath the protective clear archival Cellophane wrap.
Synopsis & Historic Viticultural Value
Published in 1967 by the prestigious academic house A.A. Balkema, The White Wines of South Africa stands as an invaluable and deeply poetic milestone in local wine literature. Written by the highly distinguished South African author W. A. de Klerk, this historic volume captures a highly personal tour of the Cape winelands.
Rather than delivering a dry, scientific text or commercial production ledger, de Klerk weaves a beautiful narrative that blends his intimate love of fine wine with deep literary observations. The book documents an important era in South African viticulture, exploring the distinct terroirs of Stellenbosch, Constantia, and Paarl during the foundational period of modern cold-fermentation for white varietals. Richly illustrated with classic 1960s photography and written with exceptional descriptive elegance, this rare volume remains an essential addition for wine historians, serious oenophiles, and dedicated collectors of mid-century Africana.
Author Profile: W. A. de Klerk
Willem Abraham (Bill) de Klerk (1917–1996) was one of South Africa’s most distinguished, influential, and respected authors, playwrights, and essayists of the 20th century. Educated in Law at Stellenbosch University, he built a legendary literary career, publishing extensively across multiple genres—including widely acclaimed political critiques like The Puritans in Africa and numerous Afrikaans novels. A fiercely independent intellectual and an active, vocal critic of the political status quo, de Klerk was a true Renaissance man who spent his life on his farm in the Klein Drakenstein, dedicating his leisure to philosophy, mountaineering, and a lifelong devotion to the cultural heritage of Cape viticulture.
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