Rhodes University Library is pleased to announce the availability of a newly digitised and highly distinctive resource: the archive of the South African Quarterly Journal, now freely accessible online.
Published in Cape Town during the early colonial period of the Cape Colony, this journal is widely regarded as one of the earliest substantive examples of scholarly communication in South Africa. It provides a fascinating window into the scientific, literary, ethnographic, zoological, mining, industrial, and geological knowledge being produced and circulated in southern Africa in the early nineteenth century.
The South African Quarterly Journal was published by the South African Literary and Scientific Institution, which emerged through the amalgamation of the South African Institution (founded in August 1829) and the earlier South African Literary Society.
The publication history is particularly noteworthy:
- First series commenced in February 1830, with at least five numbers published
- A second quarterly series followed between 1833 and 1835
- A third series began with a single issue in December 1836
Series details include:
- 1st Series – Volume 1, Numbers 1–5 (October 1829 – October 1831)
- 2nd Series – Volume 2, Numbers 1–4 (October 1833 – September 1835)
- 3rd Series – Volume 3, Number 1 (December 1836)
This important collection has been drawn from rare local holdings at Cory Library and supplemented with content from the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL).
We encourage you to explore and share this remarkable resource, which represents a foundational piece of South Africa’s intellectual and scientific heritage.
Access the full digitised archive here:
https://journal.ru.ac.za/index.php/saqj/issue/archive