The Bleek Collection

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The Bleek Collection consists of papers of Dr W H I Bleek (1827-1875), his sister-in-law Lucy Lloyd (1834-1914), his daughter Dorothea Bleek (1873-1948) and G W Stow (1822-1882) relating to their researches into the San (Bushman) language and folklore, as well as albums of photographs. Bleek developed a phonetic script for transcribing the characteristic clicks and sounds of the ½Xam language which is used by linguists to this day. Although some of the material was published by Lucy Lloyd and Dorothea Bleek, a great deal remains unpublished. The material provides an invaluable and unique insight into the language, life, religion, mythology, folklore and stories of this late Stone Age people. - UNESCO

In the field of African languages, the papers of W H I Bleek, German theologian, philologist and cataloguer of the Grey Collection, are of major significance. The Bleek Collection has three components lodged at three sites, namely the Cape Town campus of the National Library, the Manuscripts and Archives Library of the University of Cape Town and Iziko Museums. - National Library of South Africa