The South African Public Library was founded as a public, reference library on 20 March 1818. Between opening in 1822 and 1828 it was funded by a government tax on the wine trade and its collections were available, free of charge, to all inhabitants over the age of 16. After government funding was withdrawn in 1829, the SAPL became a subscription library as well as a reference library. Between 1818 and 1824 the library’s collections, which were primarily of an academic nature and suitable for research, was entrusted to Sir. John Barrow (1764-1848). Between 1824 and 1848, the SAPL was supplied by London bookseller James Mallcott Richardson.
Compiled by Thomas Pringle (1789-1834)while he was assistant librarian. This catalogue includes a list of benefactors on page 3, and a contents list on pages 5 and 6. There is an author index. The catalogue lists 525 items and is divided into 32 sections according to no acknowledged system. 129 of the titles listed are travelogues, which are categorised by geographical area. Statutes and common law, canon and civil (99 titles) is the second most populous classification. History is divided into general history of Great Britain and her dependencies (33 titles) and universal history, ancient and modern (32 titles). Philology, criticism, education and philosophy (27 titles) includes essays by Montaigne, Hume and Knox whilst miscellaneous authors (23 titles) contains works by Dr. Johnson, William Robertson, William Paley, Jonathan Swift, Edmund Burke, John Locke and Alexander Pope. There are a small number of books on political economy (10 titles), including an 1817 edition of Adam Smith’s Wealth of nations . There are 22 dictionaries and lexicons in various languages. Furthermore, there is the beginnings of a scientific collection including 12 titles on medicine and chemistry, 10 books on mathematics and navigation, 8 on natural history and botany, and 5 dictionaries of arts and sciences.
The English lyric and dramatic poetry sections contains 25 titles. The best represented writers are William Shakespeare (2 9 volume editions of his plays are listed), John Milton (Paradise lost and a 7 volume edition of his Works are listed), Walter Scott (10 volumes), Alexander Pope (9 volumes), George Crabbe (5 volumes), Lord Byron (3 volumes) and Anna Seward (3 volumes). In terms of novels, the 1825 catalogue lists only the 25 titles contained in Anna Letitia Barbauld’s 50 volume The British novelists with an essay and prefaces, biographical and critical (1820).
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