Historical Publications Southern Africa (formerly the Van Riebeeck Society) was founded in 1918 with the purpose of making primary sources available in a readable and enjoyable form to anyone interested in southern African history.

Since then a volume has been published every year, with very rare exceptions. The Society depends for its continued existence on its members, whose subscriptions finance the publications, and its editors who select and meticulously edit its volumes. Society publications have consequently achieved a high academic standard and out-of-print volumes have become valuable Africana.

In 2006 we decided to begin reprinting volumes which have long been out of print. That they remain much sought-after is a tribute to the wisdom of the original decision by our predecessors in the VRS to print them. Please note that to distinguish these from the originals, the reprints are quite different in appearance – they are A5-sized paperbacks with light blue paper covers. In no way are they meant to compete with the originals. Their chief value lies in their content, which again becomes available to the public after many decades. If you wish to order a reprint, go to the Reprints page.