EARLY DIAMOND DAYS. (Bradlow Africana Collectanea)

x plus 238pp. Hardcover with cellophane protected DW. B/W photo illustrations of early diamond interest. Edna and Frank Bradlow Ex Libris paste-down to front fixed EP.

Usual foxing to DW, EPs and prelims, which is becoming something of a Bradlow Africana Collectanea trademark. Apart from this, this book is in near fine condition.

'The early days of diamond mining in South Africa present a fascinating and little known way of life that began with the first chance discovery of a diamond in the bed of the Orange River and ended with the foundation of the mammoth De Beers organization in 1888.

After the few diamonds of the 'river diggings' had been exploited, the far more profitable 'dry diggings' were discovered. The author describes day-to-day life on these diggings, the long hard treks the diggers made to get there, the kind of people they were and the kind of people they became, the way they worked, the kind of communities they formed, how much money they made and how they spent it - from the freebooting early days to the organized town life that soon sprang up.' Excerpt from the inside front flap.

Frank Rosslyn Bradlow (1913 - 2000)

'Frank Bradlow was a leading collector and consultant on Africana. He was educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg and at the University of Witwatersrand where he was awarded a B. Comm. degree as the best graduate of the year. In 1934, after leaving university, he joined Bradlows Stores which his father, born in Smorgon (Belarus), had founded in 1903. He worked in various branches of the firm including those in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) which his father had opened after the Nationalist Government in South Africa had passed the Quota Act. This is where his interest in collection Africana started, in 1938. In World War II Frank Bradlow served in the Imperial Light Horse in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Egypt, losing the sight of his left eye through a shrapnel wound in 1942. After being discharged from the army in 1943 he went back to the family business. In 1945 he settled in Cape Town and married Edna Rom. They had three children. At the end of February 1981 he retired from the family business and became an Africana consultant, advising clients on art and books. He had numerous publications, both his own and with his wife, Dr Edna Bradlow. These included books, reviews, journal and newspaper articles, introductions and texts for reprints of the great classics and for newer publications. He served in many public offices, including serving on Council of the University of Cape Town for almost twenty years. His interests were recognized by the award of various honours.' https://atom.lib.uct.ac.za/index.php/frank-bradlow-papers-2