Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea (1937)

Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea is a 1937 tourist brochure produced under the joint auspices of the Durban Publicity Association and the South African Railways and Harbours Publicity and Travel Department.

It was printed in the Union of South Africa by William Brown & Davis of Durban. It is bound in green softcovers, close to A5 in size, with a striking art deco design and a small roundel of a 1930s bather in the surf.

Inside Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea is a fold-out booklet of 32 pages that opens to twice the closed size.

It begins with a “How to Plan Your Holiday” page on the services of the S.A.R. Tourist Branch, followed by the title page with the Durban coat of arms.

The centrefold is a colour relief map of the Natal coast from Port Edward in the south to St Lucia in the north, showing railways and roads. The last page of Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea carries outline maps of the North Coast and South Coast resorts.

The inside back cover lists the South African legations and trade commissioners abroad, from Berlin and Rome to Batavia and Shanghai.

Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea is a fine piece of pre-war Durban and railway publicity, from the years when the SAR&H actively promoted the Natal coast as a holiday destination.

The maps in Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea name the coastal resorts and halts of the day, from Isipingo, Amanzimtoti and Scottburgh to Margate, Port Shepstone and the North Coast beaches.

It will appeal to collectors of Durban and Natal history, railwayana and SAR&H ephemera, vintage travel brochures and early South African maps.

Condition – Good

A good copy of Durban: A Sunlit City by the Sea. The green covers show wear and some small tears, and there is some foxing.

There are small rust-coloured marks along the centre fold of the colour map, most likely from the staples. The contents are otherwise very good, and the booklet is firmly bound.