Geskiedkundige Verkenninge by F. A. van Jaarsveld

Geskiedkundige Verkenninge (Afrikaans Historiography Essays, Eerste Druk 1974)

Historiographical Essays on the Nature and Development of History Writing by a Leading Afrikaner Historian

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Geskiedkundige Verkenninge
• Author: F. A. van Jaarsveld
• Publisher: J. L. van Schaik (Edms) Bpk., Pretoria
• Publication Date: 1974
• ISBN-10: 0627002412
• Edition Details: Eerste druk (First Printing), 1974.
• Binding: Publisher's orange cloth-covered boards, lettered to the front and spine, with the publisher's device to the spine and back.
• Physical Format: Medium-sized hardcover, roughly octavo. Text in Afrikaans.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Boards: Orange cloth boards with black and white lettering and a clock-face design to the front. The spine ends and the spine hinges show fraying and loss of cloth, with white board showing, most noticeably at the foot of the spine. The lower edge of the boards has small chips and scuffs, and the front board corner is bumped and slightly curled. The back board is clean.
• Interior: The page edges are toned yellowish with age. The binding appears sound. A few phrases in the foreword are underlined in pencil, and there is a faint pencil inscription on the front free endpaper.
• Provenance: Faint pencil handwriting to the front free endpaper, and '1974' handwritten in green pen on the title page.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Pretoria in 1974 by J. L. van Schaik, Geskiedkundige Verkenninge is a collection of Afrikaans-language historical essays by F. A. van Jaarsveld. The essays reflect on the nature of history writing and its development, and the foreword refers to earlier volumes and to the Dutch historian Huizinga.

The book belongs to the body of work through which Afrikaans historians examined their own discipline. It includes a chapter on the origins of Afrikaans historical writing, and the volume is cited in scholarship on Afrikaner nationalism and the roots of Afrikaans historiography.

For the collector, it is a useful primary document of how Afrikaner historians understood and presented their craft in the 1970s, and a worthwhile companion to other works by Van Jaarsveld on Afrikaner nationalism and historiography.

Author Profile: F. A. van Jaarsveld

Floris Albertus van Jaarsveld (1922–1995) was one of South Africa's most prolific historians. He earned his doctorate at Groningen and became a senior lecturer at UNISA from 1958, and he edited the journal Historia until 1985.

His best-known works include The Awakening of Afrikaner Nationalism, 1868–1881 (Afrikaans 1959, English 1961), Die evolusie van apartheid en ander geskiedkundige opstelle (Tafelberg, 1979) and Afrikanergeskiedskrywing: verlede, hede en toekoms (1992). His career and interpretations remain the subject of critical debate.

Geskiedkundige Verkenninge Van Jaarsveld · F. A. van Jaarsveld 1974 · Afrikaans historiography essays · Afrikaner historian essays · J. L. van Schaik 1974 Eerste druk · Afrikaans history writing book · Afrikaans history book Pretoria