CP Moll Sr. and Jr.
Cornelis (or Cornelius) Pieter (or Petrus) Moll Sr.
Lifespan: 1815 Cape Town - 1880 Nylstroom
Occupation: printer, publisher, landdros, butcher, wagon maker
Father: Cornelis Moll (formerly Mol) (1755 Netherlands - 1837 Cape Town), who emigrated to the Cape in 1779 as a sailmaker and mattress maker for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), and built a large family (at least 24 children across two marriages), though he had no involvement in printing.
Wives: First married Josina Elizabeth Vervoort (bef.1804 - 1873) in 1836, in Cape Town. Second married Helena Geertruida Johanna Peebles (née Waldeck/Waldek, 1845 - 1887) on May 29, 1873, in Pretoria; she was a divorcee from John Cairn Peebles.
Children: Included Cornelis Petrus Moll Jr. (1836 - 1917), Wilhelmina Jacoba Moll, Reinier Johannis van As Moll (1845 - 1935), and others, totaling at least 11 from the first marriage and 8 from the second.
Key Roles: Served as Acting State Secretary of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R.) around 1860; Landdros (magistrate) of Pretoria from October 1864 to November 1867; later Landdros of Waterberg district.
Cape Colony Printing Ventures (1830s-1840s)
Cornelis Pieter Moll Sr. began his printing career in Cape Town in the early 1830s, operating from addresses like 31 Burgstraat and later 12 Shortmarketstraat. In 1836, influenced by journalist Charles Étienne Boniface - a French-born polymath and former pupil - Moll invested in a printing venture with partner Hammes to produce a popular magazine, with Boniface as his key collaborator.
- Charles Étienne Boniface (1787 France - 1853 Durban) was a French-born polymath, journalist, playwright, musician, educator, and controversial figure in early 19th-century South African cultural and press history. He is best known for writing South Africa's first original published play and for his involvement in early newspapers. In 1830 he became the first editor of the Dutch-language newspaper De Zuid-Afrikaan. Boniface lived in Durban in 1845-1846 then returned to Pietermaritzburg remaining until 1852. He was not further connected with the press except as the author and contributor of several virulent satirical outbursts on his critics. He returned to Durban poverty stricken, and in 1853 he committed suicide.
That year, Moll produced his first booklet: a 126-page work titled Correspondentie tusschen den eerwaarden Kerkenraad der Nederduitsche Hervormde Gemeente in de Kaapstad, en een Aantal Leden Derzelve. On January 3, 1837, he launched The Moderator of the Cape of Good Hope Impartial Observer, an impartial English newspaper where he was listed as editor and owner, though Boniface handled much of the editing. Recognizing limited demand, Moll shifted it to a Dutch focus in July, renaming it De Meditator. The paper included original poetry, such as the Voortrekker-favorite Het lot van Zuid-Afrika, but struggled financially.
During this period, Moll also printed Lees-Vruchten, a quarterly magazine for cultured readers (1837-1838), and in 1838 reprinted early De Meditator articles as the book Waarheid en Onpartijdigheid of de Meditator in het Klein. Despite these efforts, bankruptcy forced the paper's closure in April 1840. Moll then took on temporary jobs as a butcher and wagon maker before relocating to Pietermaritzburg around 1841, marking the end of his Cape endeavors.
Natal Period and Newspaper Struggles (1840s-1850s)
Seeking fresh opportunities after his Cape setbacks, Moll Sr. joined Natal's emerging printing scene in Pietermaritzburg by 1841, alongside pioneers like Cullingworth in Durban, J.J. Buchanan, and May & Davis. Reuniting with Boniface in 1844, they established De Natalier - Natal's inaugural newspaper using a simple handpress and assistance from Joshua Kincaid.
The paper quickly stirred controversy with Boniface's unsolicited critiques of officials, including magistrate Zietsman, prompting complaints and legal challenges. After seven months, Moll dismissed Boniface for mismanagement that alienated subscribers, leading to a successful lawsuit by Boniface. Further disputes with new editor Arthur "Hooky" Walker halted publication on September 29, 1846. It briefly resumed as De Patriot - The Patriot in December 1846 (incorporating Natalsche in 1847), blending English and Dutch content, but folded in Durban by 1848 amid declining readership due to British annexation and Dutch emigration.
Moll experimented with other short-lived ventures, such as the 1847 quarterly De Natalsche Diogenes (no surviving copies) and De Zuid-Oost Afrikaan (launched October 7, 1853, lasting two years before reviving as The Natal Chronicle in Durban on September 12, 1855). By 1856, at the invitation of Transvaal President M.W. Pretorius, Moll departed Natal for Potchefstroom, concluding his time in the region.
Transvaal Expansion and Political Shift (1850s-1880)
In 1856, responding to an invitation from General A.W.J. Pretorius or his son M.W. Pretorius, Moll Sr. relocated his family and handpress by ox wagon to Potchefstroom, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R.) capital. His son, Cornelis Petrus Moll Jr., signed a contract on September 21, 1857, to produce a weekly government gazette. The first issue of De Staats Courant der Z.A.R. appeared on September 25, 1857, with Jr. as printer and publisher, focusing on official notices alongside political and general news.
They also launched De Oude Emigrant (initially De Republiek van Zuid-Afrika) on October 15, 1857, as the region's first true newspaper. However, the government's dissatisfaction with its editorial tone led to the press's purchase in September 1859, renaming it Gouvernements Courant der Z.A.R. (later De Staats Courant der Z.A.R. in 1863). During the 1860s-1870s economic depressions, the press printed government notes ("Gouvernements-noten") on blue folio paper and even postage stamps.
With Pretoria becoming the capital on May 1, 1860, operations shifted there, though the press remained in Potchefstroom until July 28, 1863. Jr. was appointed Pretoria's first government printer on August 18, 1863, producing the gazette from a thatched building on Church Square (later sites for Adv. Hollard's offices and the Mutual Building), before moving to Kerkstraat with assistant Daantjie Immelman. Jr. also published De Republikein, Pretoria's first bilingual newspaper, in 1864.
followed his father into printing, learning the trade during their Natal years. He played a pivotal role in Transvaal, signing the 1857 contract and serving as the hands-on printer for De Staats Courant and De Oude Emigrant. After the 1859 sale, he continued as superintendent, becoming Pretoria's first government printer on August 18, 1863, following the capital's relocation.
- A critical interpretation of the temporal impact of landscape, space and power on the built environment of Church Square, Pretoria. 2018. Van der Vyfer, E.Y. (thesis)
- Being some account of the history of the printing, packaging and newspaper industry of South Africa, and of the National Industrial Council for Printing, prepared to mark the Jubilee of the Council 1919-1969. 1969. Picton, L.J. UCT thesis)
- CV Bate, grondlegger van die Potchefstroom Herald. 2012. Gouws, H.S. et al.
- The Cradle Days of Natal. 1930. Mackeurtan, G.
- Geskiedenis van Pretoria 1855-1902. 1955. Peacock, R.
- 'n Beknopte geskiedenis van die Holland-Afrikaans drukpers in Suid-Afrika. 1943. Nienaber, P.J.
- Pretoriana 86, 1984. Ploeger, J.
- Restorica 8, 1983. Jooste, J.
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