Among the Fife Miners (Inscribed by Author)

London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1904

Small 8vo, 198pp. Hardcover binding with gilt lettering to spine.

Warmly inscribed by author.

Kellogg Durland, 1881-1911, was an American journalist and social reformer who spent four months living and working with the Fife Miners. He wrote a book about his experience “Among The Fife Miners” published in 1904. (http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/395.html)

The Fife Coalfield was one of the principal coalfields in Scotland. Over fifty collieries were in operation at various times between the middle of the nineteenth century and the closure of the last pit in 1988. The coalfield extended across the southern part of Fife where rocks of the Coal Measures Group occur and was one of a series of coalfields throughout the Midland Valley from which coal was won by both deep workings and opencasting methods. It is traditionally divided into the West Fife, Central Fife and East Fife coalfields with Kirkcaldy having been a particularly important area. Some of the mines extended beyond Fife under the Firth of Forth following the seams which occupy the Leven Syncline which extends to the south shore of the firth at Musselburgh and beyond. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fife_Coalfield)

Condition: Good. Light rubbing and spots of edgewear to boards, light wrinkling where sections of cloth covering on boards is coming loose. Light shelfwear to top and tail of spine. Previous owner’s signature and bookplate on front pastedown, previous seller’s slip on front endpaper. Some foxing to endpapers and pastedowns, offsetting from inscription on title page. Light splitting to gutters between a few pages. Text clean. Overall still well bound.