THREE YEARS WAR, OCTOBER 1899 – JUNE 1902 (First Edition, 1902)

Westminster: Archibald, Constable and Co, 1902

8vo, 520pp. Hardcover binding with gilt lettering to spine, and author’s signature inlaid in gilt on front board. Frontispiece of author and fold-out map of South Africa at rear, various smaller maps throughout book.

First edition published 1902, scarce with dust jacket. With several loosely inserted materials, including newspaper clippings of reviews on this book from a contemporary newspaper.

Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (1854 – 1922) was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician. In September 1899 de Wet and his three sons were called up as ordinary private burghers without any rank. On 9 December 1899, De Wet received a telegram from the State President, M.T. Steyn, informing him that he had been appointed a fighting general. De Wet took an active part in the peace negotiations of 1902. On 30 May 1902, he briefly took on the role of acting State President of the Orange Free State, when President Steyn had to leave the negotiations due to illness. De Wet was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Vereeniging. De Wet distinguished himself in the Second Boer War and earned a reputation for bravery in the many battles that he fought in that conflict. (wikipedia.com)

Condition: Overall good. Some rubbing and edgewear to dust jacket, sunning to spine of jacket, and some tape stains, including to edges of flaps. Dust jacket has been covered with a protective Brodart plastic sleeve after photos were taken. Slight rubbing, small stains and sections of sunning/discolouration to boards and spine. Small tape stains to endpapers and pastedowns, remnant of previous seller’s label on front pastedown, and previous owner’s name stamped to front endpaper, light offsetting to half and full title pages, slight stains to top edge of textblock, various pages still uncut. Text and maps are clean. Well bound.