The Beat of DRUM Volume 4 - The Bedside Book - Ed JRA Bailey, H Lunn 1951-1984 FIRST EDITION

Drum was started in in 1951 by Robert Crisp, an ex-test cricketer whoapproached Jim Bailey, the son of  theRandlord Sir Abe Bailey, for financing to establish the magazine. The magazinewas established in Cape Town to cater specifically to the African market andBob Crisp was the first editor.  Theinitial magazine was paternalistic and tribal in nature and as a result BobCrisp was soon replaced as editor and the offices moved to Johannesburg wherethe magazine was to concentrate on the vibrant life and culture in the urbanAfrican townships.

 

The heyday of Drum was in the 1950s and straddled the era between theDefiance Campaign and the Sharpeville Massacre. It reported on the Black urbanculture and covered everything from letters to Dear Dolly (Drums own AgonyAunt) to the depiction of American culture as adopted and modified in thetownships. The area that epitomised Drum magazine the best was Sophiatown withits jazz bands and nightlife. Drum also was the first magazine to have Blackpin-ups and so many of their covers depicted attractive Black women in glamourposes.

 

Drum was also a hothouse for many Black authors that came to the foreand some of South Africas best known Black authors wrote for Drum, Henry ("MrDRUM") Nxumalo, Can Themba, Todd Matshikiza, Nat Nakasa, Lewis Nkosi, William"Bloke" Modisane, Arthur Maimane, Stan Motjuwadi and Casey Motsisi,Bessie Head, LionelNgakane, Richard Rive, Es'kia Mphahlele and Jenny Joseph. In addition, Drum wasthe training ground for well-known Black photographers such as Ernest Cole, BobGosani and later Peter Magubane and Alf Khumalo.

 

The magazine concentrated on crime and investigative reporting, sex especiallyif it was across the colour line and sport. It was a combination of subjectsthat worked, made for riveting reading and became a symbol of Black urban life.At its height in the 1950s Drum sold 240 000 copies in such countries as theUnion of South Africa, the Central African Federation, Kenya, Tanganyika,Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. It has been calculated that each copyof Drum was passed around on buses, trains, in the streets and in clubs andread by up to 9 people, giving the magazine a potential readership of over 2million each month.

 

The Bed Side Book is Volume IV in a series called Beat of Drum. There is a selection of articles that range from the 1950s through tothe 1980s, pin-ups, photographs of sporting events. The authors are not justSouth African as there are contributions from many of the countries where Drumwas distributed.

 

   Soft cover: Very Good to FineCondition.

   Very slight wear along edgesof boards. Minimal bumping to corners, top and heel of the spine. There isshelf

      wear on both the front andback covers and the colour has worn in places.

   Text block is tight andintact. The contents are clean and bright. There is a small inscription at thebottom left

     of the title page.

   Published by J.R.A. Bailey,1984

   No Dust Jacket as published

   Binding Condition: Tight.

   Overall Condition: Very Goodto Fine.

   Size: Approximately 295mm x 210mmx 10mm

   176 pages


Condition: Good

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