Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong quarto. Measuring 12" x 9½". Green cloth over stiff paper boards with "Photographs" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 24 sepia-toned albumen photographs measuring 4½" x 7", with captions in the negative. Very good album with worn edges, chips, and tears, with near fine or better photographs.

An album of photographs from around the year 1900 depicting the Second Boer War. The images document camps, troops, battle scenes, and military equipment including “Long Tom,” a new long-range gun used by the British. Another photo shows an armored train dubbed “Hairy Man” due to the webbing of rope used to disguise it. One image is captioned “Boers in Action,” showing a man posed with a gun, while others show bodies in a British trench, and the aftermath of an explosion. Also interspersed throughout the album are group photographs of troops and brigades including General Piet Joubert and his staff and the Irish Brigade. Additionally included is a broadside issue of the *Natal Mercury War Special* published in Durban on October 2, 1900.

The Second Boer War (1899-1902) was fought between the British and the independent Boer States over gold and diamond deposits found in South Africa at the time. Although the Boers started strong with sieges at Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, some of which are pictured here, the British ultimately won, dismantling the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.

An interesting collection of images depicting scenes from the Second Boer War.

Item #445046