S. J. du Toit by P. D. van der Walt
S. J. du Toit (First Edition Afrikaans Biography in Dust Jacket)
A Biography of the Paarl Pastor Who Fought for Afrikaans as a Language in Its Own Right
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: S. J. du Toit: Vegter vir sy taal
- Author: P. D. van der Walt
- Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Kaapstad · Pretoria
- Publication Date: 1963
- ISBN: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era)
- Edition Details: Eerste uitgawe (First Edition). Die Profielreeks, fifth volume.
- Binding: Publisher's pale green cloth boards with a pictorial dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), small-format biography. No maps or plates.
- Language: Afrikaans
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The pale green cloth boards beneath the jacket are clean, with sharp corners and no obvious damage. The pictorial dust jacket, a portrait photograph on green, shows wear: chipping and fraying at the spine head and top front corner with small tears, light rubbing and speckled wear along the edges and hinge, and some creasing at the top edge. There is also a small tear at the mid-point of the jacket spine.
- Interior: The title page and the pages examined are clean. One blank page shows light toning and faint staining near the top, with a couple of tiny dark specks. The spine appears sound.
- The Dust Jacket: Present. The jacket is chipped and frayed at the spine head and top corner, with light rubbing, speckling and a small spine tear, as described above. It is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.
Synopsis & Historical Value
S. J. du Toit: Vegter vir sy taal ("fighter for his language") is the fifth volume in Die Profielreeks, a series of biographies of well-known South African figures. It is a biography of Stephanus Jacobus du Toit (1847-1911), the Paarl pastor who became one of the earliest and most determined champions of Afrikaans.
Du Toit was a founder of the Afrikaner Bond and a prominent figure in the Afrikaans language movement that began in 1875, when he sought recognition of Afrikaans as a language distinct from Dutch. He launched the first Afrikaans-language newspaper, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, and is remembered for his Bible translation into Afrikaans.
The book was written with young South African readers in mind, and gives an accessible portrait of a man central to the story of Afrikaans and early Afrikaner nationalism. It is a useful companion piece for collectors of Afrikaans cultural history and of this biographical series.
S. J. du Toit biography · Vegter vir sy taal · P. D. van der Walt 1963 · Afrikaans language movement book · Die Profielreeks · Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners founder biography · Afrikaans biography first edition
