SCHEDULE OF QUANTITIES FOR THE BUILDING OF THE WESTERN BLOCK OF THE PROPOSED UNION BUILDINGS PRETORIA

This is the original (and possibly unique) 133pp. (single sided) document, being a quantity surveying report for the building of the West Wing of the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Every component, including labour, is documented and the price has been noted in pencil for each item. A few pages have some handwritten pencil notes on their blank versos. The summary page reveals a total cost of Three Hundred and Twelve Thousand Pounds. From Page 112, an Alternative Estimate "A" is provided for the use of South African Grey Granite instead of Balmoral Stone. Later there is an Alternative Estimate “B” for the use of Flatpan Stone. The time for completion of the building is given as Two Years and Nine Months, with a Penalty of Thirty Pounds per Day for failing to achieve this! The Government Printer and Stationery Office.

Condition: Bound in printed paper wraps with a cloth spine. The wraps are a little frayed and missing a 10x4cm. piece at the lower corner of the front cover. Adjacent to this, the first twenty five pages or so are dog eared and somewhat frayed. A most unusual ephemeral document relating to the building of one of South Africa’s most iconic landmarks and almost certainly one of a kind.