Through Fortress and Rock by JDF Jones

Through Fortress and Rock (Gencor Centenary History with Signed Compliments Slip)

A Centenary Corporate History of Gencor Set Against South Africa's Turbulent Past, in Original Dust Jacket

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Through Fortress and Rock: The Story of Gencor 1895-1995
• Author: JDF Jones
• Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 1995
• ISBN-13: 9781868420292
• ISBN-10: 1868420299
• Edition Details: Hardcover edition published by Jonathan Ball in 1995. Accompanied by a tipped-in Gencor 'With Compliments' slip, hand-signed by J Marais, Group Secretary.
• Binding: Publisher's dark blue cloth boards with a gilt-coloured band at the spine foot, issued with a dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large octavo hardback, illustrated with colour photographic plates.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The plain dark blue cloth boards beneath the jacket are clean, with a straight spine and no visible marks. The corners and edges appear generally sound.
• Interior: The text pages are clean and bright and the binding appears tight. The colour plates are clean. A few small spots are visible on page 59.
• Provenance: A printed 'With Compliments GENCOR J MARAIS GROUP SECRETARY' slip, hand-signed, is laid in on the dark blue endpaper. No bookplates or stamps seen.
• The Dust Jacket: Present, with light scuffing and scratches to the back panel and some wear and a dark mark on the gilt band at the spine foot. Protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Johannesburg in 1995 to mark the group's hundredth year, Through Fortress and Rock: The Story of Gencor 1895-1995 is a centenary history of one of South Africa's major mining and industrial groups.

J.D.F. Jones traces Gencor from its beginnings in 1895 through its early development, the miners' strikes and later projects. The story of a large corporation is set against the complex and often violent history of the country in which it grew.

The book will interest collectors of South African mining and business history, and this copy is accompanied by a signed Gencor compliments slip from the Group Secretary, a small corporate association.

Author Profile: J.D.F. Jones

John David Francis Jones (1939-2009), who wrote as J.D.F. Jones, was the author of Through Fortress and Rock. His other books include Storyteller: The Lives of Laurens van der Post, The Buchan Papers, Traveller's Companion to South Africa, Freeland and Teller of Many Tales.