Apartheid – The Lighter Side by Ben Maclennan

Apartheid: The Lighter Side by Ben Maclennan is an unusual and revealing collection of political humour drawn from one of the most significant periods in modern South African history. First published in 1990, this copy is the Fourth Impression of 1994, published by Chameleon Press in association with The Carrefour Press in Cape Town, with drawings by acclaimed South African illustrator Niki Daly.

Rather than presenting apartheid through a conventional historical narrative, Maclennan collects statements, comments and observations made in Parliament and in public by politicians, officials, bureaucrats and other prominent figures. Taken together, these remarks expose the contradictions, absurdities and often extraordinary logic produced by South Africa’s system of racial segregation. The humour of Apartheid: The Lighter Side is consequently inseparable from the serious historical circumstances in which the statements were made.

Niki Daly’s cartoons and illustrations complement the text, using visual satire to emphasise many of the absurdities documented by Maclennan. Today Apartheid: The Lighter Side has value not merely as South African political humour, but as a piece of apartheid-era social commentary and Africana. It should appeal to collectors of South African history, political satire, Africana, apartheid studies and works illustrated by Niki Daly.

Condition – Near Fine

Near Fine 1994 paperback. The illustrated yellow covers remain bright and attractive with only very minor signs of handling and shelf wear. The binding appears firm and the interior is clean and well preserved. An excellent example of this increasingly collectable South African political satire.