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A Thousand Million Pounds – W. E. Bleloch and A. E. O’Flaherty’s 1917 account of the gold of the Far East Rand and the question of whether its wealth would serve Britain or Germany. The original edition, published by the authors in Johannesburg during the First World War, with all three folding diagrams in the rear pocket. A good copy in green cloth with faded but legible gilt.
1 in stock
A Thousand Million Pounds – For Us or Germany? – The Gold of the Far East Rand by W. E. Bleloch and A. E. O’Flaherty was published by the authors from their offices in the Transvaal Bank Buildings, Fox Street, Johannesburg, in 1917, and printed by W. E. Horton & Co. This is the original 1917 hardcover in green cloth with gilt titling.
Written in the middle of the First World War, A Thousand Million Pounds makes the case for the enormous gold wealth of the Far East Rand and argues over who stood to control and profit from it. It is illustrated, and this copy retains all three folding diagrams in the rear pocket, which are often missing.
Bleloch was a member of Lord Milner’s Gold Law Commission, the Geological Society of South Africa and the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa, and the author of The New South Africa and The Witwatersrand System. His co-author O’Flaherty had edited both The South African Mining Journal and The Standard and Diggers’ News. Their book is a revealing period document on the Witwatersrand gold industry, the development of the East Rand goldfields and wartime suspicion of German interests in South Africa.
A Thousand Million Pounds will appeal to collectors of early Johannesburg and Transvaal Africana, students of South African mining and economic history, and anyone interested in South Africa during the First World War.
Condition – Good
A good copy of A Thousand Million Pounds in the original green cloth boards. The gilt titling to the front board and spine has faded but remains clearly legible. The spine shows light damage, with some separation along the hinges and moderate wear to the head and tail. Internally the book is clean, with light, even yellowing to the pages. There is an ink price on the front pastedown and a small ink price mark on the endpaper; otherwise there are no notable defects. All three folding diagrams are present in the rear pocket.
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