The Special Collections Book of the Week this week is:

The Sjambok (1929-1930).

The Sjambok was a weekly South African satirical broadsheet started in 1929. It sought to expose bribery and corruption, particularly within the Johannesburg City Council. The journalist and playwright H.I.E. Dhlomo described the journal as recognising neither class, colour, race nor rank.

The Sjambok was edited by journalist and playwright Stephen Black. However, the content of the journal made Stephen Black unpopular and he soon became bankrupt as a result of a number of libel suits.  The publication was soon forced to close. We have 2 issues of the original broadsheet in our collection, as well as a 1939 issue of an offshoot publication.

UPSpace Access: hdl.handle.net/2263/78630

The Sjambok is available at Special Collections, housed on level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library, and is part of our Africana (ZA) Collection.

The Special Collections unit of the Department of Library Services plays a stewardship role in the acquisition and preservation of the Library's rare and valuable information resources, making them accessible to students, staff and researchers, as well as safeguarding them for future generations.