HEINRICH EGERSDORFER - An Old-Time Sketchbook. 'n Outydse Sketsboek. SIGNED - Eric Rosenthal

1960 First edition. Hard cover without dust cover; unpaginated. Used but in good, clean condition. Note the small chip on the cover at the spine (see image). Some foxing in front and back. Under 1kg.

Heinrich Egersdorfer emigrated to South Africa in 1879. In 1884, he and his partners founded The South African Illustrated News in Cape Town. His sketches and drawings, often in a light-hearted vein, are an invaluable record of life in the Cape Colony, and were often used in local publications. The South African Illustrated News came to an end in 1885 and he left for Australia, to return ten years later. The economic situation had improved during his absence, and he travelled to Kimberley, the Witwatersrand and Rhodesia. He started painting wildlife studies, which found a ready market and his work appeared in The Cape Argus, The Owl and other periodicals. He depicted numerous incidents and scenes from the Anglo-Boer war, some of which were published in The South African Review Book of 50 Famous Cartoons - A Unique Souvenir of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1900. Between 1899 and 1901 he acted as local correspondent for The Graphic, many of his illustrations appearing in this weekly until 1908. In 1902 and 1903, he exhibited with the South African Society of Artists (SASA). Egersdörfer's original illustrations can be found in many South African art galleries and in the Africana Museum.