The Cape of Good Hope and the Eastern Province of Algoa Bay (Andrew Hudson Bain's copy)

Professionally restored and rebound in half-green leather with matching marbled boards, new endpapers, four raised bands and title in gold on spine. The leafs containing the contents and list of illustrations appear between pp. vi and vii. The introduction is preceded with Notes in explanation of the Map. This map, however does not appear in the book. It is not sure whether a map was actually published in this edition. The scanned copy of the 1843 edition on books.google does not feature this leaf. The version listed on books.google runs to pp. 334 and the copy in hand to pp. 338. Various editions were published, according to one estimate no fewer than 23 editions of this title were published between 1843 and 1967. There is a Boshof Public Library and The Clark Bequest stamp (tippexed over) on one page. - The signature 'Andrew H Bainʼ esq' appears alongside 'Bains Vley' in ink on the title page. The name A Barlow appears in the top right corner of the same page. The signature 'Andrew H Bainʼ esq' appears alongside 'Bains vley' in ink on the title page. Alfred Barlow was a contemporary of Bain. He started working at the Friend of the Free State newspaper and later became editor. Barlow also served as head of the Agricultural Department and became the first Chairman of the Free State Chamber of Commerce in 1883. Barlowʼs Corner Shop opposite the Bloemfontein Market Square was for many years a landmark in old Bloemfontein. - A rare piece of Africana and history that survived since the mid-19th century. --- Andrew Hudson Bainʼs life was interwoven with the early history of the Orange Free State. “The most prominent member of the small civilian population of the (Bloemfontein) area since the earliest days was Andrew Hudson Bain, an Englishman from the West Indian Islands who came to South Africa for health reasons. He ventured into the interior of South Africa and became a big game hunter. After the foundation of the town he aquired three water erven and thirteen dry erven. He also owned eight farms in the immediate area, of which he called one Bainʼs Vley (today called Bains Vlei) where he lived”. Just after the proclamation of the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers in 1848 news broke that Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius was about to invade the Orange Free State. Bain was tasked by Major Henry Warden to inform Colesberg for help (Warden later rewarded him with a farm for his effort). Bloemfontein was surveyed and pegged out by Bain who lived on Bainʼs Vley from 1849 to 1870. He was a member of Wardenʼs executive council, supplied wood to the town and was described as “very sociable and pleasant, a man of intelligence”. Bain was also instrumental in finding the first bank in Bloemfontein. However, the man who settled in the area before the town was founded became ʻinsolventʼ in 1868, Bainʼs Vley was sold and he and moved to the diamond fields. He died in poverty in Boshof in 1894. In 1860 Bain organised one of the greatest hunting expeditions in recorded history on his farms Baynʼs Vley and Hartebeeste Hoek just west of Bloemfontein. The event was arranged to commemorate the visit of the first member of the British Royal family to visit South Africa, the 16-year-old Prince Albert, second son of Queen Victoria. “On the occasion a shooting party of 25, in conjunction with Baralong tribesmen drove about 30 000 head of quagga, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, ostrich, eland and antelope towards the Bains Vley homestead. The animals were stampeded through a narrow pass on the farm where the hunters slaughtered the game at random. Around 1000 head were killed on the day and thousands more (estimates range from 5000 to 10 000) during the ensuing days by the Barolongs”. ʼThomas Baines documented the event at Bainsvlei with a painting titled - The greatest hunt in Africa - which appeared first in The Princeʼs Progress. The name Bainsvlei today describes an area made up of smallholdings where the farm was situated.