Translated from the German by Margaret Greenlees. Cream cloth covers, 170 pahes. Name in pencil on ffep. A copy in very good condition.
Rudolph Siegfried Allemann was born in Prussia and baptised in September 1693. He came to the Cape as a soldier in 1720. Within a few years, he was promoted to Superintendent at the Schuur and by 1741 he was Captain of the Military Forces and President of the Council of Justice. He was therefore a highly respected man in society and is called “my hero” by Mentzel who wrote this ‘biography’.
Mentzel was tutor to three of Allemann’s children, for which he earned a salary and was accommodated in their home for many years. Allemann was married to Alberta Meijboom and they had 8 children. In 1739, as a reasonably wealthy man, he bought a farm at the foot of Devil’s Peak, later called Roodebloem.
This ‘biography’ of Allemann is, in fact, an entertaining account of social life at the Cape during the mid-18th century. The topics range from the structure of the military forces to the life of slaves, and the revolt of Estiénne Barbier to shipwrecks and the financial prospects of young women. (https://hipsa.org.za/publication/mentzel-o-f-life-at-the-cape)
- Binding Condition: Very good
- Overall Condition: Very good
- Size: 8vo (220 x 140 mm)
