The Purple and the Gold - The Story of Pretoria and Johannesburg

by Joy Collier

Hardcover

FIRST EDITION 1965

Rare

Original in its approach, the book, as a result of intensive research, throws new light on the first English settlers of Pretoria who shared the vicissitudes of the town's earlier years with the Voortrekkers, on aspects of early Johannesburg, and on such crucial events as the Jameson Raid and the discovery of gold. The saga is traced back to its very beginning when a small but valiant people trekked into the unknown and founded their own capital city in a new land. The essential irony of the situation lay in the fact that this land was later found to contain the richest gold deposits in the world.

Joy Collier has illustrated this volume with a large number of her own charming and sensitive drawings of actual scenes, ranging from Robert Moffat's house in Kuruman and Andries Pretorius' farm near Graaff-Reinet, to Henri Bettelheim's eastern phantasy in Doornfontein, and those houses occupied by the inner circle of the Reformers. These drawings are a valuable record, for while many of the houses illustrated are threatened with demolition, some have already suffered this fate. This is a book to be read and re-read, and treasured for the beauty of its text and illustrations