Books

SOUTH AFRICAN BINDINGS? New Edition. 8 volumes bound in 7. 8vo. (19.5 x 13 cm). Contemporary half calf over drab cloth by Maskew Miller Cape Town (his signature stamped to endpapers), spines with raised bands and gilt-decorated compartments, each with two tan morocco labels, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, others uncut. Old presenation inscription to Vere Hutchinson from L. P. (Cape Town) dated 5.4.1911 to endpapers of eavh volume. Extremities very lightly rubbed, some occasional foxing throughout (especially to endpapers), generally a very good set. Thomas Maskew Miller (1863 1930) was a South African bookseller and publisher. Miller founded his namesake press in 1893 as a family business after working for Darter Brothers & Walton. He opened offices in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Bulawayo. Initially, he imported books and stationery for sale, but later he began publishing books himself. The offices in Pretoria and Bulawayo were only active from 1901 to 1914. In 1924, the firm established itself as a limited company, and the printer was named Maskew Miller Beperk. The two printers published 24 children's books in this era, although they focused mainly on school textbooks. They published children's poetry, fiction, and short stories along with a series known as Maskew Miller se Afrikaanse Leesboekies.

Published in 1859, 'Adam Bede' is the first novel by George Eliot. It was an immediate success and praised for its realistic and rustic depiction of 19th-century rural life.