De Launay, Louis - The Diamonds of the Cape (1897)
This sought-after book consisted of seven chapters analyzing the history and geology of the deposits of Cape, financial and commercial organization of the Cape diamond mining and diamond industry, and giving great importance to the methods of extraction, exploitation, processing and recovery of South African diamonds. The work also includes a general examination of the geological origin of the diamond, its mode of formation in nature and its synthetic reproduction in laboratories. The author, a mining engineer, geologist and speleologist, specialist in mineral deposits and the author of a famous book "The Transvaal Gold Mines" (1896), treats the subject in a very technical and detailed manner.
The work is accompanied by numerous in-text photographic illustrations, maps and plans of mines, diagrams and tables, plus three full-page photographic plates and several large sketches of sections of the grinding workshop at the mines. With a multiple folding plate entitled "Compagnie de Beers Cons. - General surface area of mining installations and depot lands". Including a double-page table with statistics of a diamond production in South African mines (by companies) and double-page table with "Main operating results at De Beers Consolitated Company".
This is an extremely rare copy of this precious work - and the only complete copy selling on internet.
"Les Diamants de Cape. [Historique; Organisation Financiere et Commerciale; Geologie; Mode d'exploitation et de traitement, comparaison avec les gisements du Bresil, de l'Inde, de Borneo et d'Australie.]"; Paris, Librairie Polytechnique, Baudry et Cie, 1897; First edition; Size of the book: 22,5 x 16 cm; Red cloth hardcovers. Gilt titles on the front cover and spine; Text in French; Collation complete - Title page, VII, 239 pages, including illustrations, maps, tables, diagrams, and folding plans; Binding is tight and firm, light and ordinary signs of age and use. Small cut corresponding to the binding line on the top margin of the first flyleaf (front hinge), tiny piece of adhesive tape repairing a small cut on the vertical margin of the first page of the preface. Pages with some age taning and occasioanl small yellow stains, otherwise the text block is clear, without stamps, annotations or other marks in the text. A sound copy.