Transvaal Story by Tom Macdonald
Transvaal Story (Collectible 1961 Cape Town First Edition)
Stories of Old Johannesburg and the Transvaal Fortune-Seekers, by the Veteran Journalist Tom Macdonald
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Transvaal Story
- Author: Tom Macdonald
- Publisher: Howard Timmins, Cape Town
- Publication Date: 1961
- ISBN: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era)
- Edition Details: First published September 1961. First edition.
- Binding: Publisher's red cloth boards with black lettering to the spine and a black acacia tree emblem stamped on the front board.
- Physical Format: Medium-sized hardcover octavo. 252 pages, with black-and-white illustrations.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Good (G)
- Exterior / Boards: Red cloth boards with a black acacia tree emblem stamped on the lower right of the front board. The spine is lettered in black with the title and author, and appears sound, with slight rubbing at the head. There are some small pale specks on the back board and light wear along the lower edge of the front board.
- Interior: The title page and copyright page are clean and legible, with no foxing visible. A flyleaf or endpaper carries pencil and pen notes from a previous owner or dealer.
- Provenance: Handwritten notes on an endpaper: in blue ink 'Page 96', and in pencil '168/1', '1st Ed. 196(1)' and a price '$1-00' (or similar). No bookplate or stamp.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Present
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in Cape Town by Howard Timmins in September 1961, Transvaal Story gathers tales of Old Johannesburg and the Transvaal. Its pages deal with success, courage and failure, and with fortunes made from tobacco, gold, diamonds and honey.
The book follows the fortune-seekers of the early Transvaal, including those who worked the Lichtenberg diggings. It is a readable, anecdotal portrait of the pioneering years of the Witwatersrand and its surrounds, and will appeal to readers interested in the human side of the diggings and the making of Johannesburg.
A good copy of the first edition for collectors of Africana and Transvaal and Johannesburg history.
Transvaal Story Tom Macdonald · Old Johannesburg history book · Howard Timmins 1961 first edition · Transvaal gold and diamond fortunes · Lichtenberg diggings book · Tom Macdonald Africana · Johannesburg pioneers stories
