Description of the Durban Municipal Buildings, 1910 Compiled by W. P. M. Henderson

Description of the Durban Municipal Buildings, 1910 is a scarce and historically important publication produced to commemorate the official opening of Durban’s magnificent Municipal Buildings on 12 April 1910 by His Excellency General the Right Honourable Lord Methuen. Compiled by W. P. M. Henderson, Assistant Town Clerk, under the joint authority of the Durban Corporation and the Natal Government Railways, this work serves as an exceptional contemporary record of one of South Africa’s finest civic buildings.

Description of the Durban Municipal Buildings traces the conception, planning and construction of Durban’s Municipal Buildings, detailing the vision behind the project and its importance to the rapidly growing city. Richly illustrated with period photographs, portraits of civic leaders, architectural views and historical images, it provides an invaluable insight into early twentieth-century Durban and the closing years of the Colony of Natal immediately before the formation of the Union of South Africa.

Printed by the Electric Press, Durban, the booklet spans 45 pages and remains an important reference for historians, architects, collectors of Africana and Nataliana, genealogists and anyone with an interest in Durban’s civic and architectural heritage. Original editions of Description of the Durban Municipal Buildings are seldom encountered and are highly sought after due to their local historical significance and limited survival.

Description of the Durban Municipal Buildings represents an outstanding addition to collections relating to Durban history, municipal government, colonial South Africa, architecture and regional heritage, preserving an important chapter in the city’s development through contemporary text and illustrations.

Condition – Very Good

Professionally rebound in attractive blue leatherette boards with gilt lettering to the front cover and spine. The original 45-page booklet is complete. A prior ownership plate has been neatly glued to the front endpaper of the new binding. Pages display moderate to heavy age-related staining, foxing and discolouration throughout, particularly to the preliminary pages. No index found and no publication year is stated in the booklet. A sound, well-bound copy with all text and illustrations clearly legible.