The South and East African Yearbook and Guide with Atlas

The South and East African Yearbook and Guide with Atlas, 1948 edition, edited by A. Gordon Brown and published for the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, is a valuable post-war reference to travel, commerce, and geography in southern and eastern Africa. Issued annually, this long-running series served both as a travel guide and as a compendium of economic, political, and social information for British and colonial readers. The 1948 edition captures a pivotal moment in the region’s modern history, documenting the re-establishment of tourism and trade routes following World War II.

This volume combines detailed country and territorial surveys with advertisements, statistical tables, and a folding atlas, reflecting the Union-Castle Line’s extensive maritime network linking Britain to African ports. Its pages provide contemporary insights into transport infrastructure, agricultural production, governance, and travel conditions across territories including South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Kenya, Tanganyika, and East Africa.

Highly regarded by collectors of Africana, maritime history, and vintage travel guides, the South and East African Yearbook and Guide remains a key primary source for understanding mid-20th-century southern African development and imperial travel culture. The 1948 edition is particularly prized for its completeness, period cartography, and its association with the Union-Castle Line’s legacy of ocean travel.