Farewell to Gordon Pringle

Gordon Pringle a well known and well liked figure in South African book publishing circles has died aged 73.

Gordon was born in Cape Town and educated at St Andrews School in Grahamstown. He excelled at cricket. He was brought up by his widowed mother a charming Scottish lady from whom he probably imbibed his Scottish canniness.

He started his career in publishing with Howard Timmins, a famous South African publishing imprint which has now fallen into disuse. He learnt the trade with Howard Timmins himself. Howard was a larger than life figure both in publishing and in Cape Town commercial life. Timmins and Gordon travelled the country selling Howard Timmins books as well as those of Hodder & Stoughton the British company they represented in South Africa.He continued to sell Hodder books through their various changes in South Africa, as a joint venture with Jonathen Ball Publishers and then into the ill fated Southern Book Publishers and on to Struik.

By the time Hodder returned to Jonathan Ball publishers Gordon had retired but continued to do some selling for Book Promotions. Gordon formed a friendship with Philip Attenborough of Hodder & Stoughton quite significantly based on a mutual love of cricket hence his great loyalty to Hodder and theirs to him.Gordon was a knowledgeable book man and encouraged many in the publishing business including Don Nelson who continues as an independent publisher.

Gordon had gone on after school to play cricket at senior level in the Cape. His cricketing career was brought to an end by the early onslaught of arthritis. He bore this with courage and fortitude for a long period of his life. He also loved horse racing and was always well up on form and a regular punter.

He had a long, happy marriage to Jennifer Hancock who pre-deceased him. They had two children Penelope and Malcolm.