The War of the Axe, 1847 (Brenthurst Series De Luxe Edition)

The Brenthurst Series. Number 88 of the De Luxe Edition limited to 125 copies. In the original slip case covered with marbled paper and leather trim, half dark green leather binding with marbled paper boards, gilt titling on the spine, top edge gilt, well illustrated. Light wear to boards and slip case, otherwise fine.

Sparked off in 1846 by an incident in which the Xhosa released a man who had been arrested on a charge of stealing an axe, the War of the Axe – or Seventh Frontier War – was fought between the Fish and Kei Rivers in the Eastern Cape. The 1847 phase of the bush war is revealed here in correspondence between the governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Pottinger, and the commander of the British forces at the Cape, Sir George Berkeley, and other writers. Illustrative material includes many previously unpublished works of the celebrated artists Thomas Baines and Frederick I’Ons. - The Brenthurst Press.