[WILLIAMS, GARDNER F.]. The Diamond Mines of South Africa. New York: B. F. Buck & Company, 1905.
Hardcover. Reprint. Complete in two volumes. Leather-bound. Large octavos (260 x 170mm). Vol. I pp. [xvii] + 359 with 17 photos with captioned tissues; 266 figures; 13 maps; Vol. II pp. [xv] + 353 with colour litho frontis; 10 photos with captioned tissues, 2 color; 259 figures; 2 maps. Finely bound in contemporary half leather. The smooth spines with Arts and Crafts style gilt decoration. Marbled boards, pastedowns and endpapers. All page edges gilt. Initial and terminal blanks plus half-titles present.
Condition: a touch of rubbing to extremities but otherwise fine. A marvelous set.
Notes: First published in 1902, "the edition now offered has been thoroughly revised, enlarged, and brought up to date, with the edition of a number of new and interesting illustrations." - Preface. This work is still considered an important authoritative source today. Gardner F. Williams (1842 - 1922) was an American mining engineer and author, and the first properly trained mining engineer to be appointed in South Africa. Gardner grew up in the Californian mining camps of Sierra and Yuba counties, surrounded by mining activity, graduating with a BA and MA from University of California at Berkeley. Beginning in 1887, Williams managed De Beers Consolidated Mines for 18 years under the founder, Cecil Rhodes. (Mendelssohn II, p. 614; Hosken, p. 217) "Williams served as general manager of De Beers for eighteen and a half years. During this time he was responsible for the planning and introduction of a vastly-improved underground mining system as well as for many improvements in the methods of extracting diamond-bearing rock. By 1892 underground shifts had been reduced from twelve to eight hours on his initiative and under his supervision De Beers gained the reputation of being one of the foremost mining companies in the world. Judged by his contemporaries to be an outstanding mining engineer, Williams commanded the complete confidence of the great financial houses in Europe and America. His authoritative work, Diamond mines of South Africa, first published in 1902, is still a standard reference work. The Royal Academy of Science in Sweden awarded him their silver medal in 1905 and the University of California an honorary doctorate of Law in 1910." - DSAB IV, p. 785.
