CECIL RHODES:

xv, 182 pages, [12] leaves of plates: illustrations, frontispiece, portraits, plan. Cloth with gilding, unevenly faded. Dust wrapper browned on spine and with some small tears. Spotting to page edges.

Baker (1862-1946) provides rare insight into Rhodes and his views. Baker grew up in rural Kent and trained at the Royal Academy. He appreciated traditional materials and workmanship; Rhodes had rustic tastes and did not like "gimmicks" or materials imported from Europe. They met on board ship en route to South Africa in 1892. As their visions coincided, Rhodes commissioned Baker to remodel Groote Schuur, thus starting Baker's prestigious career. Rhodes wanted original unpainted woods, whitewashed walls and iron and brass worked in the old manner. They replaced deal with teak and adapted the mansion to fit into the Cape environment. Baker's success in South Africa (The Union Buildings in Pretoria, Grey College in Bloemfontein, Pretoria Station, Rhodes University in Grahamstown and the Rhodes Memorial on the slopes of Table Mountain) led him to design buildings in India (Parliament House, New Delhi), Great Britain (South Africa House, India House, a grandstand at Lords, Rhodes House at Oxford), Belgium (Tyre Cot Cemetary), Kenya, France and Australia. Baker is buried at Westminister Cathedral.