A Bosman Treasury by Herman Charles Bosman
A Bosman Treasury (Illustrated Hardcover Anthology in Dust Jacket)
A Lionel Abrahams-Edited Selection of South Africa's Greatest Short-Story Writer, Illustrated by Ian Lusted
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: A Bosman Treasury
- Author: Herman Charles Bosman
- Editor: Lionel Abrahams
- Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Cape Town ; Johannesburg
- Publication Date: 1991
- ISBN-13: 9780798128308
- ISBN-10: 0798128305
- Edition Details: Published 1991. Compiled and prefaced by Lionel Abrahams, with illustrations by Ian Lusted.
- Binding: Publisher's brown cloth boards with an illustrated colour dust jacket, printed front and back with Ian Lusted artwork.
- Physical Format: Large octavo hardcover, 304 pages. With a section of colour plates and pen illustrations by Ian Lusted throughout.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior / Boards: The plain brown cloth boards are clean, with a small white spot near the top of the front board and slight bumping along the lower edge. The spine is sound and square.
- Interior: The text pages are clean, cream coloured and tight, with no foxing or markings. The binding is firm. A colour plate section is present.
- The Dust Jacket: Present. The illustrated, glossy jacket is bright, with light chipping to the head of the spine and a small nick at the top corner of the front flap. The remaining edges and corners are fairly neat. It is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.
Synopsis & Historical Value
A Bosman Treasury gathers stories, essays and poems by Herman Charles Bosman, compiled and introduced by Lionel Abrahams, who knew Bosman and edited several volumes of his work. It was published in Cape Town and Johannesburg by Human & Rousseau in 1991.
The collection is illustrated in pastel and pencil by Ian Lusted, whose colour plates and pen drawings accompany the text and give the volume a distinctly visual character among Bosman editions.
Bosman is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer, and Abrahams is largely credited with building his posthumous reputation. This anthology offers an attractive, illustrated entry point to his writing and suits both readers and collectors of South African literature.
Author Profile: Herman Charles Bosman
Herman Charles Bosman (1905–1951) is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer. He took his degree in education at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, but his teaching career ended abruptly when he shot and killed his stepbrother. Sentenced to death, he had the sentence commuted to ten years, of which he served four.
His stories were first collected in Mafeking Road (1947), followed by the prison sketches of Cold Stone Jug (1949). His first novel, Jacaranda in the Night, appeared in 1947. Posthumous collections include Unto Dust (1963), Jurie Steyn's Post Office (1971) and A Bekkersdal Marathon (1971). Lionel Abrahams, who edited Bosman at His Best (1965) and The Collected Works of Herman Charles Bosman (1981), is in large measure responsible for Bosman's emergent reputation.
Herman Charles Bosman short stories · A Bosman Treasury · Lionel Abrahams Bosman · Bosman illustrated Ian Lusted · South African short story collection · Human & Rousseau 1991 · Bosman hardcover with dust jacket
