Adding to the Library

Further to the above the December 2015 exchange rate was much more in our favour.

Even with today's rates we are still paying £10's above the odds for the privilege of not receiving a book.

Not a happy bunny at all.

Sergio had posted Casement's advert on 1st December, 2015 where it clearly states 500.

John Y.

Methinks the messenger has just been shot..............................

Frank,

Someone needs to be and I'm not venting my anger at you, just voicing my opinions out loud!

Like the Light Brigade someone has blundered.. I diagnose a severe case of left hand/right hand syndrome between the publishers and the U.K. distributors

John Y.

KENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Frank,

Bromhead syndrome...

John Y.

To be honest, I was not overly surprised at the delay. That's not to excuse it, but I think it is probably par for the course for getting things delivered from that part of the world. Thanks Frank for your efforts to expedite matters I am mildly encouraged. There seems to be a penchant for so called limited editions in SA of not particularly distinguished volumes to create an artificial cachet - Soldier Artist, Road to Ulundi, Brenthurst volumes etc. etc.  Nice books but not that special really. As for "signed by the author" I don't think that will amount to a hill of beans in the vast majority of cases either. Buy a book for its contents not for its costume jewellery. And don't let the delays in delivery raise your blood pressure - we most of us can't afford the risk!

Steve

Steve,

I have got to agree with you, as I had a similar problem with Soldier Artist..., the World and his wife had theirs and mine hadn't appeared, despite contributing to the text!  I was told on several occasions that I had already the book sent.

Some months down the line a copy eventually arrived.

Like you I appreciate Frank's efforts, he has done a sterling job on our behalf to endeavour to move things along.  Keep taking the tablets in view of Steve's comment.

I imagine there a number of contributing factors; the convoy carrying the books was ambushed; a lack of screwdrivers with packing crates etc & etc...

John Y.

Call that a screwdriver. This is a screwdriver!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Steve

Ive just exchanged an e mail with Ken and informed him of the feelings prevalent. Hopefully he will be able to shed some light on the matter. But bottom line for me is that its an excellent book and poses some interesting questions.
Cheers

Oh yes and the fact that ive actually got it...........dum de dum

Now let me think, who was it that said he hated smug?

Steve I mentioned earlier that Ive just discovered an interesting little book by Ron Lock, Ive ordered it. Have a look back in the posts.
Cheers
PS Smug, moi

90th,

To finance your trip buy lots of Ken's books in KZN and jump on a plane bound for Heathrow.

Sell them out of your suitcase and hop on the next QANTAS out with Skippy, and that's your trip paid for.

John Y.

It would seem that we all need to take a reality check!.
yeah thanks Frank, more than helpful..i was more than
happy to receive the Lloyd, especially with the David
Rattray connection, it is a beautifully produced work and
it more than compliments Life on active service..as for
the Brenthurst collection, i could not imagine not having
the Clarke's, i remember how thrilled i was reading the
letters.. Kens work i suspect is an overpriced coffee table
book..and i have to say i don't mean that in a disparaging
way, Franks early indications have really whetted my
appetite. Hmm, books signed by the author, i seem to have
a lot of them! they do seem to hold a certain cachet depen
-ing on the book/ author..

And by the way..as said i ordered and prepaid for The Road to
Ulundi.. and if the first run is sold out Casement had better not
even try to palm me off with a 1st ed...second imp. that would
make me extremely angry.

Hi Les
I wouldn't describe it as a coffee table book, it really is a fascinating piece of work by Ken. Overpriced? That's really in the eye of the beholder, I personally was happy to pay the price, and a great part of that for me was supporting a local author/historian. Ive tried to get more information on numbers etc but at present Im waiting for people to reply. I believe from what Ive gleaned that it is definitely a limited edition and quite possibly it will be in the nature of 1000.But that's not 100% confirmed. Possible Im different but I do enjoy collecting first editions and in particular signed first editions, but that's just me.
The Road to Ulundi, revisited, stands on its own in terms of content.

Cheers

Evening Frank

I will take a look at the Ron Lock book. The following popped up recently - looks quite interesting. "Last Outpost on the Zulu Frontier" Graham Dominy
Published by University of Illinois Press, 2016. All about Fort Napier. Have you come across it?

Steve

I personally was happy to pay the price, and a great part of that for me was supporting a local author/historian. from Frank.

Hiya Frank, all you say is fair enough, i guess i'm just a bit peed off with the lack of even
adequate communication from Casement, this is a specialized work in a niche market and
i'm listening carefully to what you have to say about this. i do believe supporting authors
Historians and Researchers is very important, especially given the hard work and single
minded determination i have witnessed from some over the years..of course i will compare
and contrast Kens work with Brown..that will be instructive to me and also a pleasure i'm
sure. if you say it stands alone, that's good enough.

It's a lot more expensive out here from what I've seen , over 90 GBP's , and that isn't including postage .
90th

Steve
I looked through a copy when I was in PMB a few months back. Although a well put together account it didn't really excite me into buying.

Cheers

Ok Im reliably informed from an impeccable yet unnamed source that the book is being printed in small runs, hence the quick sell out. So whilst it is the second print run it still is the first impression. Hope that makes sense. The batch has been dispatched by courier and will be in England in a matter of days so provided there are no rail strikes, airline go slows or the like I would advise you lot start to nag the hell out of the distributor for some service. As an aside to that distributor, they in turn don't order the book from the publisher until they have a sufficient amount of pre orders to justify it hence the delay so Casement must now perform : "Nothing can be fairer, or more noble, than the holy fervour of true zeal." Moliere.

Cheers

Well done Frank,

Thanks for your intervention.

JY

The invoice is in the post

That's Ok. It will never get here.

Steve

Considering the SA post office is virtually bankrupt and in serious danger of closing down, your probably correct Steve. BUT, I do know a rather fleet footed young man that carries mail in a forked stick so beware.

Yeah Frank, nice one..just given Casement a hurry the .... up.. got to say i have
personally no problem with mail from RSA, items have always turned up, i
have had no missing items, and iv'e have many dozens of items over the years..

Hi All
As Les said , I also haven't had a problem with the SA post office ( sometimes takes a while to get here ! ) so far , so good as they say , I've only had to worry about 8 or so items getting here , I know what will happen the next time I order something , it wont bloody arrive .......at all ! ...ever !
90th

I bought a copy of this when it first came out..signed by Harfords
grand daughter and the Paynes.. had quite a few problems getting
the ltd ed num, finally Emma sorted it out..its 39 by the way.. so
looking at the link below i see it can now be had for £14.00..and
from the address i know who is getting rid of the excess stock. so
i have bought another, no doubt a reprint, but for £14.00 i could
not help myself, i will use it as a ref copy, the original is wrapped
in cotton wool in a box. cheap as chips guys. and a wonderfully
produced book.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272213063757?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Good deal Les, I paid around 50 GBP. Number 28.
Did you get the copies of the latest info from Ken?

Cheers

Frank,

If I can come in there I will e-mail you and update from this side.

John Y.

Steve
Have a chat with Les and JohnY, could be beneficial to your bank account.
John Ive responded.
Alternatly of course I could bring three copies with me to the UK next month and disperse them.

Cheers

Frank,

With the exchange rate between Sterling and the Rand, don't just bring three books pack a case with them, as we are paying £14 over the SA purchase price. Well some of us are...

John Y.

Sorry cases are full of half price Kruger Rands

And a pebble from Fugitives drift that I intend to place on Sam Wassalls grave.

Frank Allewell wrote:

And a pebble from Fugitives drift that I intend to place on Sam Wassalls grave.

What would this signify to you!

LH
In my younger days we lived in Laburnum Crescent in Barrow. My bedroom window overlooked the cemetery and in particular grave 1952. My dad on many occasion pointed out a grave to me visible from my window and told the story of when he was young listening to the man buried there telling of his adventures in Africa. It was the first time I ever heard of the Zulus, years later I swore that I would revisit someday after seeing the place he won his VC. I have seen Fugitives Drift many times but on my first visit with David Rattray picked up a pebble. So many many years later I shall be in Barrow and do what I promised to myself. Silly and maudlin I know, but still important to me.

Cheers

Afternoon Frank.as JY has updated you i have little to add, apart from
the fact that Andy who is the face from Casement has proved to be
such a nice helpful guy, but its very apparent that he is ' dancing in
the dark '. this saga is in danger of giving the Mousetrap a run for its
money.. i am currently in patient waiting mode, truth be told i'm off
and running with the next and then the next thing, so Kens book will
turn up when it does..

I understand the significance of the pebble, you do him honour and
complete the circle, not silly or maudlin.

Thanks for the heads-up Frank. Pebble is a nice gesture.

Steve

Steve Your not on the e mail list so FYI, Ken has had a meeting this morning with the 30 Degree South MD, the Road to Ulundi Revisited is scheduled for arrival in the UK mid June.

Cheers

Good news Frank. Am also up to speed on the financial front.

Many thanks.
Steve

THE RUIN of many a poor bibliophile, the Abe- books website, currently
offers for sale three copies of
The Road to Ulundi featuring
the watercolour sketches of
John North Crealock made
during the Anglo-Zulu War of
1879.
The cheapest will set you
back around R3 500 plus post
age; the most expensive is
going for R5 400.
As those prices indicate, the
book, published in 1969 with a
print run of 1 000, has become
a valuable item of Africana.
Now Durban-based histor
ian and battlefield guide Ken
Gillings has produced Road to
Ulundi Revisited, both homage
and a companion update to the
original.
Printed in a signed limited
edition of 1 000 and utilising
a “then and now” format,
Gillings has matched his con
temporary photos to Crealock’s
original watercolours.
In the late 1960s when The
Road to Ulundi was published
by the University of Natal
Press (now the University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press), it repre
sented a pioneering venture.
“Interest in the Anglo-Zulu
War was limited by-and-large
to small groups of military his
tory enthusiasts,” said Gillings.
“I used to have to apply for a
permit to visit some of the
sites because they were in
Bantu areas, and that probably
discouraged many people from
visiting them. Isandlwana was
an exception because it was a
national monument, but one
was not allowed to stay over
night in the area.”
Nor was there much liter
ature available on the subject.
CT Binns had published his
outstanding The Last Zulu
King in 1963. In 1964, the film
Zulu resulted in increased
interest in the war in Britain,
and then, in 1966, an American,
Donald R Morris, produced the
first definitive history of the
Anglo-Zulu War, The Washing
of the Spears.
Since then the war has
fuelled a niche literary indus
try, while the battlefield sites
have become major tourist
attractions for both local and
international visitors. “Now
there are dozens of publica
tions available,” said Gillings.
“Authors and historians such
as Ron Lock, Ian Knight, Saul
David, Jeff Guy, John Laband
and Paul Thompson have
unlocked many secrets about
the war, and new material has
made this aspect of South Afri
ca’s history one of the most
sought after among military
historians all over the world.”
Back in 1969 that was all
to come, and the decision to
publish The Road to Ulundi
was a prescient one. The mod
est credit on the book’s title
page, “Edited and prepared for
publication by RA Brown, MA,
(Oxon.)”, indicates to whom
that foresight belonged.
Brown was the librarian
at the University of Natal’s
Pietermaritzburg campus from
1962 until 1973.
Born in England in 1914, he
came to South Africa shortly
after gaining his master’s at
Oxford to teach at Michael
house. Brown’s family had
South African connections –
Lawrence G Green, the prolific
author of popular anecdotal
history books was a cousin.
During World War II Brown
served in the British Army, and
after being demobbed returned
to South Africa, taking the post
of deputy librarian at Rhodes
University prior to moving to
Pietermaritzburg. After his
retirement in 1973, Brown
returned to England, where he
died in 2002.
Today Brown is remem
bered with affection and admir
ation by those who worked with
him. “He was a truly cultured
and well-educated man, with
wide-ranging interests and an
eye for opportunity,” said col
league Colleen Vietzen.
“In addition to his fore
sight, Ron was a very hands-on
man and made things happen.
Among his passions was a deep
interest in Natal history and
social evolution, and he built
up a useful Nataliana collec
tion… He jumped at opportun
ities to enhance the collection.”
Another colleague, Natal
settler authority Shelagh Spen
cer, and her husband Brian
became close friends of Brown
and his wife Win. “Shelagh
was aware of Ron’s interest in
the Crealock drawings from
his first learning about them,”
said Brian Spencer.
“And we all spent a mem
orable weekend with George
Buntting (a legendary expert
on the war) driving from place
to place where the sketches
were done as Ron wanted better
knowledge of the sites before
the book was published.”
In the introduction to
The Road to Ulundi, Brown
described how, in 1966, he had
come across an article in the
English newspaper, The Times,
concerning the problems
facing regimental museums
which mentioned the Crealock
album of watercolours in the
Sherwood Foresters’ Museum
at Nottingham Castle.
Brown’s interest was imme
diately piqued as he knew the
regiment was a descendant of
the 45th Foot, the first regi
ment to be stationed in Natal
in the mid-19th century.
Brown travelled to Notting
ham to look at the paintings,
and the regimental authorities
agreed to lend them to the Uni
versity of Natal Library with a
view to publication.
The album consisted of 189
paintings and drawings of
the Eastern Cape and Natal
depicting “landscapes, camp
sites and scenes, battlefields,
military and civilian person
alities”.
Brown noted: “The artistic
quality is good and the excel
lent detail has been praised by
botanists, geographers and his
torians who recognise in them
an authentic pictorial record.”
The collection reflects the
time Crealock was in South
Africa as military secretary to
Lord Chelmsford, commander
of the British troops in South
Africa.
Born in 1836, Crealock had
seen service in India during
the Indian Mutiny Campaign
of 1857 to 1858 and was men
tioned in dispatches three
times. Promoted to captain in
1859, he served in India until
1870.
On his return to England,
Crealock served as deputy
assistant adjutant-general and
later deputy assistant quarter
master-general at Aldershot
and was promoted to major
in 1875. In 1878, Crealock was
selected to accompany Chelms
ford to southern Africa.
At Chelmsford’s side, Crea
lock, now a lieutenant-colonel,
sketched his way through the
Ninth Frontier War, followed
by the war against the Zulus.
He was present during
the Isandlwana campaign –
where a British force was all
but annihilated by the Zulu
army – as well as at the battle
of Gingindlovu, where he was
slightly wounded, and at the
Battle of Ulundi that ended the
war with a British victory.
A good artist he may have
been, but Crealock was prob
ably a difficult personality.
He was described by Sir Gar
net Wolseley (who replaced
Chelmsford) as an “arch-snob”
and accused of “governing
Chelmsford and keeping him
in ignorance of all going on
about him”.
Wolseley concluded with
the ultimate coup de grace: “He
was not a gentleman.” How
ever, it should be pointed out
that Wolseley in his highly
entertaining diaries rarely
said anything good about any
one other than himself.
Crealock later commanded
the 95th Regiment, and a subse
quent regimental history was
kinder than Wolseley: “There
can have been few in the bat
talion who did not feel they
were better soldiers for hav
ing known so progressive and
appreciative a commanding
officer.”
Crealock died in 1895. After
Crealock’s death, his paintings
were given to the Regimental
Museum in Nottingham Castle,
where Brown subsequently
selected 67 of the Natal scenes
for publication.
An eager purchaser of The
Road to Ulundi on its appear
ance in 1969 was a young Ken
Gillings. “I bought a copy and
drove to Pietermaritzburg
from Durban to ask Ron Brown
to autograph it,” said Gillings.
“He was somewhat bemused; I
don’t think many people had
asked him to autograph their
copy.”
And so a book was signed
and, unknowingly, a baton
passed on. Gillings’s interest
in the Victorian campaign was
kindled at Westville Boys’ High
School. “I had a history teacher
named Ron Warner, who kept
the class mesmerised with his
teaching of South African his
tory. He took us on our first
battlefield tour in 1963 and I
was hooked.”
In 2010 it occurred to Gil
lings “that matching the Creal
ock sketches to photographs
would make for a fascinating
PowerPoint presentation”.
“While it was a relatively
simple matter to photograph
the popular sites, such as
Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift,
most of the other locations are
off the beaten track. I started
photographing those about
four years ago.” With some
help from his wife Heather.
“She would hold the original
book aloft as I tried to line
up the sites in the middle of
nowhere. Crealock rode with
his artist’s materials in his sad
dle-bag.
“The British Army seldom
had properly surveyed maps
of wherever it was fighting,
and so an important part of the
duties of a junior officer was
to be able to produce a good
sketch map and panorama for
his commanding officer.”
The Road to Ulundi Revisited
– The Zulu Sketches of an Art
ist on the March: John North
Crealock by Gillings is pub
lished by 30° South Publishers.
Acclaimed battlefield guide repackages history
A classic of Anglo-Zulu War Africana featuring front-line sketches from a serving British officer has been revisited and republished
with photographs of the actual sites as they are today, paying homage and giving an updated account, Stephen Coan reports
HISTORIAN: Ken Gillings, author of Road to Ulundi revisited, at the monument on the site of the battlefield at Gingindlovu. Artist John North Crealock was wounded in the battle fought on April 2, 1879.
INITIATOR: Ronald Arden
Brown, editor and driver behind
the publication of The Road to
Ulundi, published in 1969.
NEW TAKE: Road to Ulundi Revisited by Ken Gillings combines the original watercolour sketches by
John North Crealock first published in The Road to Ulundi in 1969 with his own photographs and
accompanying explanatory text.
THEN AND NOW: The hill of Isandlwana drawn by John North Crealock contrasted with the scene
today with monuments and memorial stone cairns scattered over the battlefield where a Zulu army all
but annihilated a British force in 1879.

The above is from the Star mon March 28th..review by Stephen Coan,
the images are from the article, plus one of Crealock.

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I know when the p is being well and truly taken..
AZW enthusiasts i'm sure.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=THE+ROAD+TO+ULUNDI

I would agree Les, I know Chapter two, ive bought through them in the passed, but 100GBP on top ?

Cheers

Frank,

Together with the postage, that works out to £50 more than the South African price, or in another words £30 less than the normal UK price.

JY

Are you serious in saying you paid 130pounds?

Frank,

The U.K. price was £70 plus postage.

Whereas the SA rate was about £52 - £57 depending on the exchange rate, hence my comment.

For 'less' read more. Hands are working with the brain. That could due the debriefing notes about Sicko's recent visit I am in receipt of.

Sorry for the confusion.

John Y.

Afternoon, Frank, JY..well as i said, i'm now more than content
to await Kens book, as i speak its on a freighter somewhere on
the high sea's. Due to a bit of patient lobbying of Casement, the
final price will come in at £35.00 gbp.in the blurb it says that the
run is 1000..Printed in a signed limited
edition of 1 000 and utilising
a “then and now” format,
Gillings has matched his con
temporary photos to Crealock’s
original watercolours.....that's it then in black and white, according to
that,ALL copies are signed!..that remains to be seen.

Of course i wander as i always do..who! decides the prices.. as an example,
i bought the Harford book pre ordered and fully signed by the authors and
Harfords grand daughter Audrey..it cost £60.00, fair enough you might
think, only to find a few months down the line that the same book could be
had for £30.00.. less the signing ( which was optional in the first place) and
so i reported last week that i ordered the same book for £14.00 thinking to
myself that it must be a later printing, but no, its the ist ed, ist imp.. so
obviously its left over stock, left kicking around..does that devalue my own
signed first, well yes i think it must do..its a real minefield out there,choose
carefully. lots of these books are privately published for what is still a niche
market..but after saying all that, i'm really looking forward to having Ken's
work, mainly based on your review Frank..it will find a good home. xhosa.

Les \, like you I buy for the read, The lessor known/firsts/older I buy because Im a bloody horder and just love to have them. The newer firsts are always going to be a gamble in terms of value though, the only people that will give a firm opinion of that will be our great grandsons.

Cheers

Yeah Frank, full agreement with that, hoarder..yep that's
me!.but its getting ridiculous now, i will have to farm most
of it out to a storage unit in the near future, i cant even open
the bedroom windows now, her indoors is a saint..and i'm
not even concerned with any value. i wont be around to see
any of it being sold/ dumped whatever it turns out to be!.
but like you, i cant turn down the next ' find' maybe i should
of stuck to collecting something less bulky as a collection,
like medals or photograph's.

If I can chip in here there are some publications of late that are obsolutely dire.

Some have contributed nothing whatsoever to my knowledge, especially those which trot out the same old dross that has been refuted for decades. I will spare the authors their blushes, but I imagine that they will receive magnificent reviews from some. I imagine my co-authored effort will not be lauded in those self same circles.

JY