''Die Brandwag'' was the first illustrated family magazine published in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, appearing monthly between 1910 and 1922 under the joint editorship of Dr W M R Malherbe and

Gustav Preller Gustav Schoeman Preller (4 October 1875 in Klein Schoemansdal, Klipdrift, Pretoria – 7 October 1943 in Pelindaba) was a journalist, historian, writer and literary critic. He fought for the recognition of Afrikaans. Preller helped the Afrika ...

. The first issue appeared on 31 May 1910 and the last in February 1922. The magazine played an important role in the development of Afrikaans literature in the aftermath of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. It promoted a lively interest in the country's history through articles such as those written by Preller on the Voortrekkers. Informative essays on painting and sculpture appeared, with covers designed by artists such as

Pierneef Jacobus Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef (usually referred to as Pierneef) (13 August 1886 Pretoria – 4 October 1957 Pretoria), was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters. His distin ...

and

Frans Oerder Frans David Oerder (7 April 1867 – 15 July 1944) was a Dutch-born South African landscape, still-life and portrait painter, etcher, and lithographer. He was born in Rotterdam. Frans was the youngest of seven children born to a municipal employ ...

. For its time it maintained a high literary standard with contributions coming from the foremost Afrikaans poets and writers. These included Jan Celliers,

Louis Leipoldt Christian Frederik Louis Leipoldt ( ; 28 December 1880 – 12 April 1947), usually referred to as C. Louis Leipoldt, was a South African poet, dramatist, medical doctor, reporter and food expert. Together with Jan F. E. Celliers and J. D. du ...

, Totius, Leon Mare and

Jochem van Bruggen Jochem is a Dutch masculine given name. It is a form of Joachim. Notable people with the name include: * Jochem Bobeldijk (1920–2010), Dutch sprint canoeist *Jochem Fluitsma (born 1958), Dutch music producer and musician *Jochem de Gruijter (bor ...

. From March 1920 'Die Banier', a scientific literary monthly, was issued as a supplement to 'Die Brandwag' and continued to appear for some years after 1922 when 'Die Brandwag' itself had ceased publication. ''Die Nuwe Brandwag'' (The New Brandwag) was published over the period 1929 - November 1933 and was edited by Prof. M. L. du Toit and Pierneef. The place of its now defunct predecessor had largely been taken over by another magazine, ''Die Huisgenoot'', so that the focus of ''Die Nuwe Brandwag'' was on literature and art of a high standard. Articles on music, sculpture and painting appeared regularly, with a large section devoted to art reproductions. It became a forum for original Afrikaans work in prose, poetry and drama, as well as hosting critiques on Afrikaans, Dutch and English literature, and is regarded by many as one of the best Afrikaans literary publications ever produced.Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (NASOU 1970) On 6 February 1937 ''Die Brandwag'' (1937-1965) reappeared as a weekly magazine, published by ''Afrikaanse Pers Bpk.'' as a supplement to the daily, ''Die Vaderland''. In August 1937 it became independent under Otto Schwellnus as editor. Its first members of staff included well-known literary figures such as Elisabeth Eybers,

Uys Krige Mattheus Uys Krige (4 February 1910 – 10 August 1987) was a South African writer of novels, short stories, poems and plays in Afrikaans and English. In Afrikaans literature, Krige is counted among the '' Dertigers'' ("Writers of the Thirties"). ...

and S. Ignatius Mocke. Among its first contributors were the household names of C. M. van den Heever, J. R. L. van Bruggen,

N. P. van Wyk Louw Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw (11 June 1906 in Sutherland, Cape Colony – 18 June 1970 in Johannesburg), almost universally known as N.P. van Wyk Louw, was an Afrikaans-language poet, playwright and scholar. He was the older brother of Afrikaan ...

, I. D. du Plessis, P. J. Nienaber and Sita de Kock. A. M. van Schoor succeeded Schwellnus, and was in turn replaced by Rud. P. Visser in 1945. The magazine began to feature mainly short stories and popular reading matter, and served as a nursery for thriller writers. In September 1948 the readership topped the 100 000 mark and the magazine had obviously come of age. Nonetheless, changes in editor and format led to its eventual demise in 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandwag, Die 1910 establishments in South Africa 1922 disestablishments in South Africa Afrikaans-language magazines Defunct magazines published in South Africa Magazines established in 1910 Magazines disestablished in 1922 Magazines published in South Africa Monthly magazines published in South Africa