Biography of the diamond and gold mining magnate Sir Ernest Oppenheimer. Under his control the diamond mining company De Beers became the global monopoly of the world's diamond industry. He was also the founder of the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa.
De Luxe full-leather presentation copy limited to 150 copies, signed on the limitation page by the author Sir Theodore Gregory and Harry Oppenheimer.
The recipient of this copy was Michiel Hendrik de Kock, third Governor of the South African Reserve Bank from 1945 to 1962. All Union of South Africa banknotes issued during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II carry his signature. South Africa became a Republic on 31 May,1961, and his signature is also carried on the first issue of Rand banknotes.
'Sir Ernest Oppenheimer's death in 1957 was the occasion of world-wide report by the Press, which featured the phrase "King of Diamonds" in the overwhelming majority of obituary notices.
This volume deals with the realities behind the cliché. It is a fully documented record of a career spanning sixty years, which led from a junior clerkship in a London diamond merchant's office to the world leadership of the diamond industry. His career, moreover, was not confined to the reorganisation of the diamond industry, but included also a dominant role in the opening up of the Orange Free State gold-field and the struggle to preserve for the Commonwealth its proper place in the development of the Copperbelt in Northern Rhodesia. The material used to portray the man himself, the organisations he created or reshaped, and the problems with which he had to contend is largely drawn from hitherto unpublished correspondence and records. This book is intended as a contribution, not only to the understanding of a great figure, but to the comprehension of the economic history of Southern Africa as a whole.'
637pp. Illustrated. Marbled endpapers and gilt page edges.
- Binding Condition: Fine
- Overall Condition: Fine
- Size: Crown 8vo.
- Sold By: Rare Paper
- Contact Person: Armandt Marais
- Country: South Africa
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