I have only met Hans Zell in person once. However I have repeatedly benefited from his scholarship on African publishing. I have observed deep acts of generosity to African scholarship in Africa. Therefore it is an honour and delight to be asked by the editors to write an appreciation of Hans.

The Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa (JHIA) aspires to deepen the understanding of the history and mission of the Jesuits on the African continent by enhancing local cultural and spiritual heritage. It aims to promote rigorous research that sheds light on the interactions between the Jesuit tradition, religions and other African socio-cultural dynamics. Through its work, the Institute seeks to inspire a new generation of researchers and actors committed to promoting Jesuit studies, justice, education and intercultural dialogue in Africa and Madagascar.

Writing a tribute to Hans Zell is, as I realize while writing, both a personal exercise, a demanding task of research, and, above all, a profound continuation of meaning in relation to a person I admire and consider a friend. These are the reasons why I accepted without hesitation the invitation from Stephanie Kitchen and Terry Barringer to write this tribute. It is, therefore, both an honour and a considerable challenge for me to write this ‘selective’ retrospective, especially as Hans continues to develop his work and to offer new valuable articles and in-depth analyses. It is fascinating, and certainly unique, to think that Hans has been tirelessly publishing his work since 1964. I am also convinced that he will hate reading such a tribute, given that he has always preferred to highlight the work of others and encourage them to follow their own path. I will therefore take full responsibility for this, never mind!

The acclaimed novelist Barbara Pym worked for the International African Institute from 1948 to 1974 contributing her editing and administrative skills to the Institute’s journal, Africa, and output of scholarly publications on Africa. This article explores that contribution, her working relationships with Cyril Daryll Forde and other anthropologists, and how all this is reflected and referenced in her novels, especially in points of contact between Forde’s ethnography and Pym’s Quartet in Autumn.

In 2013, Hans Zell asked the pertinent question, ‘How many books are published in Africa?’ Noting that the figures for African publishing output had been cited for at least two decades as 2–3 per cent of global production, he traced these back to data from an outdated and incomplete UNESCO survey as well as a number of sources that simply did not exist (Zell 2013). Moreover, the figures had remained static all that time, and he estimated that no national bibliographies existed for at least twenty African countries, a key source of data (Zell 1995; 2018). Based on these shortcomings, Zell (1995; 2019) has repeatedly called for more reliable statistics on the book trade across the continent. A decade later, the picture is not much clearer, and there is still a pressing need for more evidence and data when talking about books in Africa.

I worked directly for Hans Zell from 1984 to 1995. I had been seeking a change of career after a move to Oxford, and saw the advertisement by Hans Zell Publishers, exactly matching what I sought – publishing, books, with the bonus of Africa. That job informed the rest of my working life.

After a brief overview of Hans Zell’s publishing output, his own authorship, and that by others he published, I outline and assess his massive contribution to the bibliography and reference works of Africa, to African publishing and knowledge about it, and to associated networks and distribution in the North, as well as forays into the digital realm. In addition, I provide insights into his interaction with African studies librarians in the United States.

Founded a century ago upon the initiative of three European men, each with links to colonial administration or mission, the International African Institute subsequently developed in directions that could hardly have been predicted. Most of those directly involved in the first two decades were from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, including a growing number of academics. In addition to promoting creative writing in Africa and a common orthography for African languages, the Institute secured private American funding for a big research programme involving social anthropological fieldwork. After 1945, with decolonization on the horizon, the focus was on systematically producing ethnographic and linguistic handbooks. From the 1960s onwards the Institute endeavoured to shake off its remaining links to colonialism and – to a modest degree – to africanize itself. Its successes lay in organizing a series of International African Seminars, held at newly emerging African universities, and in continuing to produce the journal Africa, as well as several series of monographs.

The extensive archives of Frederick Lugard are an underused resource for reassessing Lugard himself, reconsidering his impact on specific places and issues, and uncovering African perspectives, refracted as they inevitably are by the perspective of an explorer, military officer, colonial governor, and elder statesman. Literature searches reveal that scholars seldom consult the Lugard papers. They will be of particular interest for scholars from Africa studying the effects on pre-colonial African states of British interference, the onset of foreign rule, and the efforts of African individuals, communities, and elites to resist or co-opt imperial power.