1900 From Capetown to Ladysmith

Description

First Edition, Leather Binding, Scarce, Signed Binding

The scarce first edition of journalist and writer George Warrington Steevens 'unfinished record of the South African war'. The most famous war correspondent of his day, Steevens died of typhoid in January 1899 while caught in the siege of Ladysmith.

Featuring a contemporary owner's bookplate to the front paste down with the motto 'Pro Patria' - 'for my country', and a small previous owner's inscription to this page, 'D. L. Cumming'. To the verso of the front endpaper is a binder's stamp, 'Bickers & Son'.

This book is volume 3417 from the Tauchnitz 'Collection of British Authors' which started in 1842 and continued for almost a century. The collection eventually comprised of 5370 volumes.

Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz founded his Leipzig publishing firm in 1837 at the age of 20. His specialism was publishing foreign language books, particularly English. He began his firm at a defining period for English literature, as popular authors were producing a wider range of work in differing genres and forms.

Tauchnitz built a good reputation with many leading British and American authors which lead him to be the principal publisher of English Language books in continental Europe from 1840 to 1940. In some instances authors sent Tauchnitz their proofs in order for them to be published at the same time as the British publisher, or in some cases before. In nineteenth century Britain, an author's work could be published by several different publishing houses leading to the production of their novels in a variety of formats. By Tauchnitz owning the publishing rights to nearly all the leading British authors for the first time there was a consistent format.