Twenty-two original albumen photos, from ca. 15,5x20 cm (6 x 7 ¾ in) to ca. 13x20 cm (5 x 7 ¾ in), mounted on recto and verso of eleven card stock leaves (ca. 23x29 cm or 9 x 11 ¼ in). All but one photo with period pencil captions on the mounts; four images captioned in negative; three are additionally dated in negative. Mounts slightly waved and with mild foxing, a few photos mildly faded, but overall a very good collection of strong interesting photos.

Historically significant collection of original albumen photos, illustrating early years of gold mining in South Africa – mostly in the Komati/Inkomati River goldfields near Steynsdorp/eMlondozi in the Eastern Transvaal (modern-day Mpumalanga province). Gold was first found in the region in 1884 at the foot of the Ingudu range mountain at the site of modern-day Barberton. When easily extracted deposits were depleted a year later, a group of prospectors went south and mined in the upper valley of the Komati River, founding the settlement of Steynsburg/Steynsdorp in 1885. The gold rush that followed in the rifts around the town was short-lived, with prospectors moving to the newly discovered Witwatersrand goldfields in 1886. In 1987, Steynsdorp was considered a ghost town (Paper, P.E. Dictionary of Southern African Place Names, Johannesburg, 1987), but it is now populated.

The photos include scenes with settlers posing in front of the Central Hotel in Steynsdorp (“used as a stock exchange after the collapse of proprietor”), and at “Ned Kavanagh’s” town estate, “a Diggers’ Picnic at the “Homestead Reef” nr. Steynsdorp” and views of “Comstock, 10-stamp battery” and “Virginia Reef” claim in the town’s vicinity. Ten images show mining properties in the Komati goldfields: “Wave Reef,” “Ladysmith Camp,” “Umsoli,” “Annie’s Faith,” and “Umlaleen.” The series includes two group portraits of white and native workers, taken during the “Opening of the Umsoli Battery, July 9 ’88” and a view of the “[Dinah?] Battery, Umsoli, 9/7/88.” Other photos show a gold mine at the “Forbes Reef, Swaziland” (western Eswatini), Delagoa/Maputo Bay in modern-day Mozambique and portray four South African mining administrators, including “Mr. Von Brandis, Mining Commissioner, Steynsdorp, Komati Gold Fields.”

Overall an interesting visual source on the early history of gold mining in eastern South Africa, dating back to the height of the Witwatersrand Gold Rush, 300 km to the east.

A list of captions: Central Hotel, Steynsdorp, used as a stock exchange after the collapse of proprietor [the sign on the roof reads “Central Hotel, J.M. du Prat, Manager”]; Ned Kavanagh’s, Steynsdorp; Steynsdorp on road to Barberton; “Comstock,” 10-stamp battery, Steynsdorp; “Virginia Reef,” Steynsdorp; “Wave Reef,” Komati Gold Fields; “Wave Reef,” Komati Gold Fields [a different image]; Ladysmith Camp, Komati Gold Fields; A Diggers’ Picnic at the “Homestead Reef” nr. Steynsdorp; Umsoli, Upper Komati District; “Annie’s Faith,” Umsoli [caption in negative reads “Annie’s Faith”]; Umsoli, 5-stamp mill; “Umlaleen,” near Umsoli; [captioned in negative:] Opening of the Umsoli Battery, July 9 ’88; [captioned in negative:] Umsoli Staff, 9/7/[88?]; [captioned in negative:] [Dinah?] Battery, Umsoli, 9/7/88; Forbes Reef, Swaziland; Forbes G.M. Co. Tramway, Swaziland; Mr. Von Brandis, Mining Commissioner, Steynsdorp, Komati Gold Fields, Transvaal; Delagoa Bay (Portuguese Territory); Portuguese Officials, Delagoa Bay.