Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways (vols 1: 1859-1910; and 2: 1910-1955) (inscribed by Judge M T Steyn) (1971, 1972)

Holland, D F

Description:

This set is interesting for the handwritten dedication to the previous owner by Judge M T Steyn (see image), grandson of President M T Steyn, writing from Onze Rust, the Steyns' family home. Translated, the dedication reads: "To my dear friend Andre Bezuidenhout in grateful recognition of the great contribution he has made to keeping our people 'on the rails'."

This two-volume railway treasure remains in constant demand among enthusiasts because of the writer's own life history.

He grew up in the first decade of the 20th century in the important railway town of Witbank, in the present Mpumalanga [as did Rohan Vos of Rovos Rail] and, as he writes in the introduction to Vol 2, had personal experience of "many of the locomotives which others know only from photographs: all the Mallets; the Garratts with the exception of the class GA; the Kitson-Meyer; all the tender locomotives from Class 1 onwards, and all the Tanks. I took my first locomotive photograph way back in 1922, a Class 16C, No 831, at Braamfontein, so that this work is really the culmination of a life-long study of the SAR locomotives".

He expected that his research and writing for these two volumes would take six months, but it actually took eighteen times as long, although, as he wrote in the introduction to Vol 1, this period represented "amongst the most interesting years of my life".

The three-colour laminated dustjackets, not price-clipped (R7.50 each), are lightly rubbed on the front with some slight lamination peeling at the extremities. The black cloth-boards, gilt to spine, are lightly crushed at the foot of the spine but the set is fine overall. There are booksellers' stickers on the front paste-downs but otherwise the plain endpapers are clean, as are the book's 144 + 144 pp of text, illustrations, Vol 2 appendix (which includes corrections to Vol 1) and index, all printed on coated paper.

 

Details:

  • Publisher: Purnell (in association with David and Charles)
  • Publisher Place: Cape Town
  • Date of Publication: 1971 and 1972
  • Edition: First
  • Jacket Condition: Very Good
  • Binding Condition: Fine
  • Overall Condition: Fine
  • Size: 255 x 192 (1.3 kg)
  • Lot No: 224
  • Hammer Price: $105
  • Bids: 2
  • Visits: 67
  • Estimate: $175
  • Reserve: $100

Have a similar item to sell? Please Contact Us or one of our sellers with the details.


Seller Details:

  • Name: Fontein Books
  • Address: 27 Voortrekker Street, Philippolis 9970
  • Contact Person: Richard Proctor-Sims
  • Country of Origin: South Africa
  • Email: fontein@wol.co.za
  • Website:
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Internet bank transfer or Visa or Mastercard
  • Trade Association: AA Approved
  • Additional Information: Fontein Books has for several years participated in Antiquarian Auctions and its predecessor. It specialises in historical and contemporary books on the Free State and Northern Karoo, and is also an active buyer and seller on commission in these and other fields. Fontein's owner, Richard Proctor-Sims, was an editor, writer and small publisher until 2005, when he moved from Johannesburg to Philippolis, the first settlement (1822) north of the Gariep or Orange River, where he opened his first physical bookshop (to which buyers and sellers are welcome), with reasonable holdings in Africana, both Anglo-Boer wars, biography, history, military history, natural history and travel. He regularly visits Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and offers to deliver heavy or valuable books or sets to these cities on such visits. Richard Proctor-Sims retains the copyright of Fontein's Antiquarian Auction descriptions and these may not be reproduced without permission and acknowledgment.