The official handbook on the history, productions and resources of the Cape of Good Hope, was commissioned by the Committee appointed by the Government for the representation of the Cape Colony at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition to be held in London in 1886.

The Foreword was written by the editor John Noble, Parliament Houses, Cape Town. The book covers issues such as health, geography of the Cape Colony, land and agriculture, ostrich farming, viticulture, manufacturing, population statistics, communication systems and infrastructure, cities and diamond mining.