The chrome connection: A commemorative history of Middleburg Steel & Alloys By Anthony Hocking
The Chrome Connection: A Commemorative History of Middleburg Steel & Alloys
An Illuminating Chronicle of South Africa's Corporate, Industrial, and Metallurgical Heritage
An Illuminating Chronicle of South Africa's Corporate, Industrial, and Metallurgical Heritage
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The Chrome Connection: A Commemorative History of Middleburg Steel & Alloys
- Author: Anthony Hocking
- Publisher: Hollards South Africa, Bethulie
- Publication Date: 1992
- ISBN-10: 0620160772
- ISBN-13: 9780620160773
- Edition Details: First Edition, Standard Hardcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium cloth boards, lettered in gilt/silver, housed under an archival-grade protective wrap.
- Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 368 pages. Richly illustrated with fine colour and monochrome historical photographs, technical corporate timelines, and industrial diagrams.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
-
The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
o Exterior / Boards: The cloth boards are exceptionally flat, square, and well-preserved. Corners remain sharp with minimal storage friction. The spine is perfectly straight, tight, completely unbroken, and free of vertical creasing.
o Interior: The text block is robustly bound, tight, and immaculately clean. Internal pages and crisp photographic plates are bright, white, and clear. Entirely free of standard user highlighting, previous owner inscriptions, dealer pencil markings, or dog-ears. This copy has clearly been meticulously maintained and looked after.
o Special Protection: The book is safely preserved and protected within a fitted cellophane cover. -
The Dust Jacket: Very Good (VG)
o Description: Complete and structurally intact. Displays only very limited, superficial signs of edge-wear and shelf friction, fully consistent with careful storage. Free of major chips, deep tears, or sun-bleached fading.
Synopsis & Corporate Value
Published in 1992, The Chrome Connection is the definitive corporate history and commemorative record of Middleburg Steel & Alloys (MS&A). Author Anthony Hocking meticulously reconstructs the high-stakes evolution of South Africa's foundational stainless steel and ferrochrome giants, tracking the industrial lineages that built Southern Cross Steel and RMB Alloys from the mid-1960s onward. The narrative captures the profound engineering milestones, financial maneuvers, and socio-economic dynamics that positioned the Middelburg operations at the absolute forefront of global metallurgy. Richly illustrated with rare archive photography, this scarce work serves as both an analytical business history and an antiquarian tribute to the technical pioneers who transformed raw South African chrome into a world-class industrial empire.
Published in 1992, The Chrome Connection is the definitive corporate history and commemorative record of Middleburg Steel & Alloys (MS&A). Author Anthony Hocking meticulously reconstructs the high-stakes evolution of South Africa's foundational stainless steel and ferrochrome giants, tracking the industrial lineages that built Southern Cross Steel and RMB Alloys from the mid-1960s onward. The narrative captures the profound engineering milestones, financial maneuvers, and socio-economic dynamics that positioned the Middelburg operations at the absolute forefront of global metallurgy. Richly illustrated with rare archive photography, this scarce work serves as both an analytical business history and an antiquarian tribute to the technical pioneers who transformed raw South African chrome into a world-class industrial empire.
Author Profile: Anthony Hocking
Anthony Hocking (1944–2014) was a highly prolific and respected British-born South African historian, biographer, and corporate chronicler. After moving to South Africa, he dedicated his career to capturing the country's multifaceted industrial, mining, and cultural heritage. Renowned for his remarkably accessible narrative style and exhaustive archival research, Hocking authored authoritative volumes on corporate empires, mining regions, and family legacies. His notable works include landmark studies such as Oppenheimer and Son, Paper Chain: The Story of Sappi, and Kaias & Cocopans: The Story of Mining in South Africa's Northern Cape. His books are highly regarded by collectors and academics alike for balancing deep technical documentation with compelling, human-centric storytelling.
Anthony Hocking (1944–2014) was a highly prolific and respected British-born South African historian, biographer, and corporate chronicler. After moving to South Africa, he dedicated his career to capturing the country's multifaceted industrial, mining, and cultural heritage. Renowned for his remarkably accessible narrative style and exhaustive archival research, Hocking authored authoritative volumes on corporate empires, mining regions, and family legacies. His notable works include landmark studies such as Oppenheimer and Son, Paper Chain: The Story of Sappi, and Kaias & Cocopans: The Story of Mining in South Africa's Northern Cape. His books are highly regarded by collectors and academics alike for balancing deep technical documentation with compelling, human-centric storytelling.
rare South African mining history books, antiquarian corporate histories South Africa, Anthony Hocking books, Middleburg Steel and Alloys history, used collectible books South Africa, scarce Africana books hardcover, Southern Cross Steel history, Middleburg mining memorabilia
