VOYAGE AUX MINES DE DIAMANTS DANS LE SUD DE L'AFRIQUE 1872-1877 [1878]

Recent faux vellum binding with red morocco label on spine with titles in gilt.

 

48pp. 25 illustrations + map. Text in French.

 

The illustrations, all based on photographs, include views of Cape Town (Adderley Street), Du Toit's Pan mine, the Kimberly mine, Klipdrift on the Vaal, journey by ox-wagon through Griqualand, and the Constance winery; and portraits of Ring-Kop Zulus, Basotho miners, and "miners of various races."

 

'This article was written by Stéphane de Drée based on notes by one Madame P. Madame P. and her husband spend five years in South Africa working claims at the Du Toit's Pan and Kimberly diamond mines; she also describes mines at New Rush and Klipdrift, and the town of Hopetown as well. Daily life at the camps plays out against a background of terrible storms, lack of water and decent food, endless work, boredom, drunkenness, and occasional good luck. Madame P. notes prices for goods and services, new mining techniques as they appear, and the role and treatment of black African workers. She also reports on the Boers, Griquas, Basothos, and Zulus, and gives a brief history of European diamond mining in South Africa, beginning in 1750. Before that, indigenous people evidently had long used diamonds as tools. Madame P.'s colourful and detailed narrative is marred by her annoying bursts of anti-Semitism.' - worldcat.org