Jan Van Riebeeck 1652

Google gives only 5 results for "Van Riebeeck" here, so I think he certainly deserves more publicity. He was "a big shot" in the dawn of South Africa, or more precisely of Cape Colony. He arrived in Table Bay in 1652.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/362944193473?mksc


Jan van Riebeeck was born in 1619 in the Dutch town of Culemborg (Kuilenburg) in the Netherlands. A beautiful town some 20 kilometers from Driebergen, the town where I was born ( a few years later ).
If I may ask, what makes you interested in such a fairly unknown person?


Peter

Hi Peter,
As a child growing up in Pretoria South Africa, my bachelor great-uncle lived in a residential hotel called the Culemborg. I only just realised that it was most likely named after the birthplace of Jan van Riebeeck.

From a historical perspective van Riebeeck was central to the European settlement of South Africa. He was commander of the first Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.

Clive

For a South Africa collector, one of the highest-regarded handbooks is the Union of South Africa Stamps Handbook/Catalogue ("Handbook") and one of the highest-regarded editions for the Handbook is the 1952 edition - The van Riebeeck Tercentenary Edition.

(The high regard is from experts, not me. I've never flipped through a newer one. I read somewhere (probably here) that '52 was the one to get so that's what I sought out.)

Thanks Clive, for your answer.
When I was in school, back in the 50's, for some reason South Africa was either never talked about or I was not listening!
But I am surely going to make up for that now!


Peter

The 1952 Dutch set commemorating the 300th anniversary of the foundation of the Dutch VOC station at Cape of Good Hope that became the Cape Colony.

Cjd,
I have the 1960 Golden Jubilee edition, I don't know how the editions differ, but irrespective of edition the "Handbook" is a must-have for any Union of South Africa Collector.

I actually had two copies but sold the extra copy to rod222 a few years back.

Clive

Family research, including DNA testing, is one of my hobbies, and a relative's mt-DNA test revealed that my father's orphan grandmother's maternal lineage goes to Holland. The Dutch woman who came to Cape Colony in the 1670s was one of the first settlers.

Regarding the Handbook, 1960 combined the 1955 update ("Vol. 2") and the 1952 into one volume, and updated them again, rather than issuing just a "Vol. 3" update.

Does anyone have the 1979 Handbook where the color plates were introduced, and if so, are they worth the effort of seeking out a 1979?