Hardcover Folio, full-bound in goatskin and supplied with a grey cloth slipcase. It is a limited edition of 26 autographed copies, with 200 pages. Gilt embellishment on the front cover and gilt tittles to the spine. Beautiful illustrations of Photography, paintings, and portraits throughout the book. Overall the book and slipcase are in excellent condition "as new".
Written by Michael Stevenson, this is a study of the Randlords, their backgrounds and the accumulation of their fortunes on the diamond fields of Kimberley.
The discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa during the second half of the nineteenth century created unique opportunities for a handful of men to accumulate enormous wealth very rapidly.
At the end of the century they were among the richest and most powerful individuals in the world. Most of them settled in Britain and adopted would-be aristocratic life-styles, soon becoming known as the 'South African millionaires' or 'Randlords'.
Craving social acceptance and recognition, they constructed upper-class identities to transcend their modest, in some cases humble, backgrounds.
They systematically acquired and displayed properties and possessions that symbolised wealth and power in Europe.
Arguably, their most symbolic expenditure was on art, which they bought with the same zeal they had devoted to trading in gold and diamonds in South Africa.
- Jacket Condition: No jacket
- Binding Condition: Very Good
- Overall Condition: Very Good
- Size: 339mm x275 mm
- Sold By: Bookdealers cc
- Contact Person: Doron Locketz
- Country: South Africa
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 0114407936
- Preferred Payment Methods: EFT, Payfast, Credit Card
- Trade Associations: South African Bookdealers Association
