Sixty Years Ago; or, Reminiscences of the Struggle for the Freedom of the Press in South Africa and the Establishment of the First Newspaper in the Eastern Province

Description

Number 414 of an edition limited to 510 copies. Text facsimile of the Saul Solomon printing of 1885.
“Louis Henry Meurant combined enterprise and ability with high ideals, and his activities during his long and varied life illuminate many aspects of the history of South Africa during the nineteenth Century. . In 1828 he moved to Graaff-Reinet, and from there accompanied a party of hunters across the Orange River. On his return he bought the printing press of Godlonton and Stringfellow, which had previously been confiscated by Governor Donkin, and set up a Printing Works in Grahamstown, when only twenty years of age. The border Settlers immediately implored him to bring out a newspaper, and he decided to establish the Graham’s Town Journal. Sixty Years Ago gives an interesting account of all that this involved, and includes many light-hearted anecdotes of life on the frontier in those perilous days. The first number appeared on December 30th 1831, and in 1832 Godlonton joined Meurant as partner, and was thus re-united with the printing press that had originally been his.”.