Olive Schreiner Novelist
South Africa, Matjiesfontein · 1983-01-31
Unofficial first day cover (FDC) · South African philately
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info card 2
This cover is postmarked on 31 January 1983 at Matjiesfontein, marking a century since the publication of Olive Schreiner's novel The Story of an African Farm in January 1883. Schreiner published the novel under the pseudonym Ralph Iron after struggling for some time to find a publisher willing to take it on. Once Chapman and Hall released it, the book sold out quickly and drew strong interest from readers on both sides of the Atlantic, running through a second and third edition in short order. One detail worth noting is where this cover was postmarked. Matjiesfontein sits in the Great Karoo, a landscape closely associated with Schreiner's own life and writing. She died in 1920 and was buried on Buffelskop, near her husband's farm at Cradock, a resting place that places her permanently within the very Karoo setting her most famous novel helped bring to literary attention.
Description of the Cachet
The cachet shows a sepia toned portrait of Olive Schreiner, framed in an ornate oval border decorated with delicate vine and leaf detailing. She wears a high buttoned collar with a soft frilled scarf, her dark curling hair loose around her shoulders. Her gaze is direct and steady, giving the portrait a quiet intensity. Below the portrait a decorative banner reads Olive Schreiner, followed by the caption at the time of writing The Story of an African Farm, 1883-1983. The whole design has a Victorian literary feel appropriate to the centenary being marked, with the ornamental border echoing the style of book plates from that era. The stamp affixed above shows the Lord Milner Hotel at Matjiesfontein, the small Karoo village where Schreiner spent time and which is closely tied to her later life and legacy in the region.
Information Card
THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM Olive Schreiner's famous novel, The Story of an African Farm, was published a hundred years ago, in January 1883, under the pseudonym "Ralph Iron". From being an unknown author hawking her novel through the rain from one London publisher to another, and feeling — as she put it — that "everyone could know that what was stuck under my cloak was a rejected MS", Olive Schreiner found herself a celebrity. The first edition of this novel, published by Chapman and Hall, was soon sold out. There was keen interest in the English-speaking world on both sides of the Atlantic and a second and third edition followed. The poetic force, imaginative range and complexity of The Story of an African Farm signalled the advent of a highly individual talent. It also marked the emergence of a significant new literature from Southern Africa. Olive Schreiner herself characterized the novel as portraying "the eternal tragedy of youth and genius and beauty, struggling against the adverse material conditions of life, and being beaten by them. It is a cry out against 'fate'." Olive Schreiner produced three other novels and some important, if contentious, socio-political works. But the one work that lives and will remain synonymous with her name is The Story of an African Farm. Worn out by ill-health and the daemon of her own restless creativity, she died in 1920 at the age of sixty-five and was buried on Buffelskop near the Cradock farm of her husband, Samuel Cronwright-Schreiner. The impetus she gave to literature in South Africa is reflected in the constantly renewed interest shown in her work, while the Olive Schreiner Prize, awarded annually by the English Academy of Southern Africa, associates her more directly with the promotion of new creative talent. Afrikaans: "THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM" Olive Schreiner se bekende roman, The Story of an African Farm, het 'n eeu gelede, in Januarie 1883, onder die skuilnaam "Ralph Iron" verskyn. Die onbekende skryfster wat haar roman in die reën van die een Londense uitgewer na die ander gesmous het en wat, soos sy dit self gestel het, gevoel het dat elke iemand kon sien dat 'n afgekeurde manuskrip onder haar mantel versteek was, het oornag beroemd geword. Die eerste uitgawe van haar roman, wat deur Chapman en Hall gepubliseer is, is gou uitverkoop. Daar was groot belangstelling in die Engelssprekende wêreld aan weerskante van die Atlantiese Oseaan en 'n tweede en 'n derde druk het gevolg. Die poëtiese krag, verbeeldingrykheid en kompleksiteit van The Story of an African Farm het die opkoms van 'n betekenisvolle nuwe letterkunde in Suider-Afrika. Olive Schreiner het self haar roman beskryf as 'n uitbeelding van die tydlose tragiek van die stryd — en die genadelose talent en skoonheid, teen ongunstige lewensomstandighede, dit was 'n protes teen die "noodlot". Olive Schreiner het nog drie romans en heelwat betekenisvolle korter fiksie- en 'n aantal belangrike, sosio-politieke werke die dag laat sien. Die een werk wat egter met haar naam sal voortleef en steeds met haar naam geassosieer sal word, is The Story of an African Farm. Afgetakel deur swak gesondheid en die rustelose skeppingsdrang is sy in 1920 in die ouderdom van vyf-en-sestig oorlede en op haar man, Samuel Cronwright-Schreiner, se plaas Buffelskop naby Cradock begrawe. Die stukrag wat sy aan die letterkunde in Suid-Afrika verleen het, word in die voortdurende nuwe belangstelling in haar werk weerspieël, en die Olive Schreiner-prys wat jaarliks deur die English Academy of Southern Africa toegeken word, verbind haar meer direk met die aanmoediging van nuwe skeppende talent. ---- Side 2: Map English: A map showing places associated with Olive Schreiner (Taken from "The Life of Olive Schreiner" by S. C. Cronwright-Schreiner, 1924.) Afrikaans: Plekke wat met Olive Schreiner geassosieer word, word op dié kaart aangedui. (Oorgeneem uit "The Life of Olive Schreiner" deur S. C. Cronwright-Schreiner, 1924.) AURORA 10/82/4815
Theme: Heritage
Condition: FineGood condition. Minor wear or small imperfections, but overall well-presented.
Addressed: No
Signed: No
Stamp denomination: R0.13 (ZAR)
Estimated value: ~US$0.09
This is a high-level, subjective estimate only, not a professional appraisal.
This first day cover (FDC) is part of Southern Covers, a private collection of 177 first day covers documenting the postal history and philately of South Africa and the homeland states. New to first day cover collecting? Read the guide to learn about cachets, postmarks, and stamp collecting terms, or browse the whole collection of Southern African FDCs.
