Timber and Tides : the Story of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay by Tapson, Winifred
Timber and Tides: The Story of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay by Winifred Tapson (Signed Author Copy with Leng Dixon Illustrations)
A Masterful, Painstakingly Researched Chronicle of the Garden Route’s Historic Maritime, Forestry, and Gold-Mining Pioneers
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Timber and Tides: The Story of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay
- Author: Winifred Tapson
- Illustrator: Leng Dixon
- Publisher: Juta & Co., Limited, Cape Town
- Publication Date: 1973 (Revised Fourth Edition / Distinctive Collecting Printing)
- ISBN-13: 9780702104558
- ISBN-10: 0702104557
- Edition Details: Collectible Juta Hardcover Edition. Hand-signed by the author, Winifred Tapson, directly on the title page.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium textured hard boards with crisp spine typography.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 197 pages. Embellished with 12 pages of historical black-and-white photographic plates, comprehensive index, and numerous original, delightful text sketches by famed South African artist Leng Dixon.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Good (G)
- Exterior / Boards: The original hard boards are firm and structurally sound, showing light edge-wear, rubbing, and minor bumping to the board extremities from natural handling over the decades. Spine remains completely intact and undamaged.
- Interior: The text block is robustly bound, clean, and well-secured to the hinges. Internal pages and photo inserts are clean and intact. The preliminary page shows some minor edge-wear (as detailed in listing photos), entirely common for local printings of this era.
- Provenance & Collectible Enhancements: Features a highly desirable, authentic ink signature from the author, Winifred Tapson, on the main title page.
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The Dust Jacket: Good (G)
- Condition Details: The original paper dust jacket remains intact and complete. It displays limited, age-appropriate signs of wear and tear, including light edge-rubbing and minor shelf friction along the extremities. Now beautifully preserved and stabilized inside a brand-new, high-grade archival cellophane cover to prevent any future edge-wear.
Synopsis & Historical Value
For its compact geographical size, Knysna is arguably one of the most famously storied locations in South Africa, celebrated for its jaw-dropping lagoon scenery, legendary stinkwood furniture, and the lingering mystery of George Rex—the prominent early 19th-century settler rumored to be the illegitimate son of Great Britain's King George III and his Quaker mistress, Hannah Lightfoot.
Yet, as Winifred Tapson brilliantly demonstrates in Timber and Tides, the true history of the Knysna and Plettenberg Bay districts contains a vast treasury of human drama that far eclipses local folklore. Written with a sharp, dry sense of humor and backed by years of painstaking primary archival research, Tapson charts the deep maritime heritage of the Garden Route. She documents the brave coastal captains and timber ships that risked the treacherous Knysna Heads to haul valuable indigenous hardwoods to Cape Town, alongside Plettenberg Bay’s early role as a vital colonial shipping port.
From the rugged timber fellers working the deep Tsitsikamma forests to the frantic, long-forgotten boom of the Millwood Goldfields and the legendary, dangerous imperial elephant hunts, Tapson unearths critical primary evidence that reshapes our understanding of the Cape. Enhanced by the iconic, atmospheric sketches of celebrated South African artist Leng Dixon, this hand-signed copy is an essential, cornerstone volume for any serious collector of Garden Route Africana.
Author Profile: Winifred Tapson
Winifred Tapson was a highly respected South African historian, archivist, and regional author who dedicated her life to uncovering the forgotten socio-economic history of the Southern Cape coast. Known for her meticulous attention to detail and exhaustive reading of early colonial shipping logs, personal diaries, and municipal ledgers, Tapson possessed a rare literary talent for transforming dense historical facts into witty, lively narratives. Her collaboration with the famous Cape painter and illustrator Leng Dixon ensured that Timber and Tides became not just an academic authority on the region, but a visually cherished piece of South African sports, maritime, and colonial history.
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