In the Steps of Nellie A History of Mitchell Park and Robert Jameson Park, and of The Zoological Gardens, Durban by Donald P. McCracken
In the Steps of Nellie: A History of Mitchell Park and Robert Jameson Park, and of The Zoological Gardens, Durban
A Comprehensive Botanical and Faunal Chronicle of Edwardian Natal’s Premier Municipal Green Spaces
A Comprehensive Botanical and Faunal Chronicle of Edwardian Natal’s Premier Municipal Green Spaces
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: In the Steps of Nellie: A History of Mitchell Park and Robert Jameson Park, and of The Zoological Gardens, Durban
- Author: Donald P. McCracken
- Publisher: Durban Parks Department, Durban
- Publication Date: 2001
- ISBN-13: 9780958412537
- Edition Details: First Edition, Limited Municipal Softcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's heavy-gauge illustrated semi-gloss card wrappers (perfect-bound softcover).
- Physical Format: Landscape Octavo (8vo), vi, 112 pages, plus 14 unnumbered pages of standalone historical plates. Profusely augmented with archival monochrome photographs, portraits, and selective colour illustrations. Dimensions: 15 x 21 cm.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Near Fine (NF)
- Exterior / Wraps: The original illustrated wraps remain exceptionally bright, square, and structurally sound. Displays only a touch of microscopic, superficial shelf-friction along the outer margins, entirely consistent with flawless archival handling. The spine is completely uncreased, unbroken, and crisp.
- Interior: The text block is robustly bound, tight, and immaculate. The internal pages, map details, and independent historical plates are entirely clean, bright white, and free of reader annotations, underlining, or dog-ears.
- Provenance: Pristine collector's state; entirely free of previous owner signatures, institutional stamps, ex-libris attachments, or dealer pencil markings.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published by the Durban Parks Department in 2001, In the Steps of Nellie is an authoritative, meticulously researched local history compiled by the renowned environmental and botanical historian, Professor Donald P. McCracken. The volume tracks the fascinating genesis and development of Durban's iconic civic spaces: Mitchell Park, Robert Jameson Park, and the long-lost Durban Zoological Gardens.
Beginning with the trend-setting introduction of five Mauritian deer in 1900, McCracken chronicles how these public landscapes transformed from early ostrich farms and colonial botanic showcases into a complex zoological garden that once housed lions, leopards, polar bears, and famed elephants like Bob and Nellie. The narrative brilliantly examines municipal policy, Edwardian leisure culture, and public nostalgia. It stands as a vital reference work for serious collectors of Nataliana, South African architectural gardening history, and early municipal conservation chronicles.
Author Profile: Donald P. McCracken
Professor Donald P. McCracken is a highly distinguished South African historian, academic, and author specializing in environmental, botanical, and media history. Serving as a longtime professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), his expansive body of work focuses heavily on the historical landscapes of Southern Africa. His widely praised monographs—frequently exploring colonial botany, Victorian parks, and early wildlife conservation—are celebrated for bridging rigorous archival accuracy with highly engaging, accessible prose.
High-Value Search Phrases: In the Steps of Nellie McCracken, Mitchell Park Durban history book, Durban Zoological Gardens colonial history, Donald McCracken Nataliana books, rare South African municipal history softcover.
