Reviews: Atlas of the Union of South Africa

S. P. Jackson reviews the Atlas of the Union of South Africa, compiled by A. M. and W. J. Talbot and published by the Government Printer in Pretoria in 1960. In 1942 the Social and Economic Planning Council identified the need for a systematic survey of natural resources and related economic activities; the University of Cape Town’s Geography Department was invited to undertake it in 1947, and the atlas was the outcome. Its seven sections cover the physical environment, population, agriculture, industry, transport and external trade, with over 700 black-and-white maps and diagrams based on official statistical records published between 1910 and 1950. Jackson praises the coloured physical maps and the mineral-resources map’s clarity. Economic and population maps use dots or symbols on sparse outline maps, supplemented by detachable transparent reference overlays that he finds effective. He stresses the compilation’s labour and judgment, alongside constraints imposed by budgets, production capabilities and mapping methods. Despite these constraints, he judges the atlas a strong account of resource exploitation and economic growth, and a valuable source of fundamental data for readers interested in South Africa beyond geography specialists.