Author’s Edition, limited to just 1,000 copies, and is signed and numbered (#105) by Gardner F. Williams on the limitations page.
Mendelssohn notes in his South African Bibliography that this monumental work is "replete with valuable information and is the standard authority on all matters connected with diamonds and diamond-mining." It covers everything from ancient gem history and township growth to underground mining engineering, cutting techniques, and a vital eyewitness Appendix documenting Kimberley during the South African War.
Written by Gardner F. Williams, the legendary former General Manager of De Beers Consolidated Mines, this work offers an unmatched firsthand perspective on the rise of the Kimberley mines under Cecil John Rhodes.
Detailed Specifications
- Author: Gardner F. Williams, M.A.
- Title: The Diamond Mines of South Africa
- Publisher: B.F. Buck & Company, New York
- Year: 1905
- Edition: Limited Author's Edition (Copy No. 105 of 1,000, Signed by Author)
- Format/Size: 4to (260 x 180 mm); 2 Volumes (Volume I: 359 pages | Volume II: 353 pages)
- Binding: Full black leather with intricate decorative gilt on upper covers and spines; titled gilt on spines; marbled endpapers.
- Edges: Uncut fore-edge, top edge gilt (TEG).
Illustration & Map Inventory
An exceptionally rich, elaborately illustrated copy containing:
- Frontispieces: Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Williams (Vol. I); striking colour frontispiece of diamonds (Vol. II).
- Maps & Plans: 15 total maps (including 4 double-page maps).
- Mining Plans: 1 double-page coloured plan of the Kimberley Mine in 1877.
- Large Map: 1 massive folding map housed at the rear of Volume II.
- Plates: 26 high-quality photogravures alongside numerous text illustrations and plates, several in full colour.
Condition Report
- Volumes: Very Good Set. The leather bindings remain strong and beautiful with bright, crisp decorative gilt. Internally clean with solid text blocks and excellent plate preservation.
- Publisher's Box: Housed in the rare, original publisher's box. The box is in worn condition, though it has successfully protected the books themselves for over a century.
Bibliographic Reference
- Cited in Mendelssohn (Sidney) South African Bibliography, Volume 2, Page 614.
