I thought I would inform List Members of a mining book which I recently
enjoyed. It is, ‘Holman - Cornish Engineering 1801 –2001: Two Centuries of
Industrial Excellence in Camborne’ by Clive Carter. Published by CompAir
UK, Camborne, Cornwall TR14 8LN, in 2001. ISBN 0-9540405-0-3.
It is in softback with 110 pages, at a recommended price of £9.99.
The title speaks for itself but do not worry that it is parochial, for
Holman’s exports are covered and a whole chapter is devoted to South Africa
at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Two points must be emphasised:
firstly, the book is lavishly illustrated, for example, have you ever seen
a photo of a large engine boiler being transported by elephants? Secondly,
Clive Carter is a superb writer of clear exciting prose which is always a
pleasure to read.
The only negative criticism I would make is that there is no index or
source references. The latter is especially annoying as Mr Carter often
directly quotes from documents without naming them and drops in pearls of
fascinating information without saying how he knows. For example, Jebus
Bickle the grand old man of Harveys of Hayle came out of retirement at a
Methuselah like age to help Holman’s out during the First World War.
I fear this book maybe difficult to obtain; I ended up buying it in person
from the CompAir Reception in Camborne. Fortunately I have heard a rumour
that the Trevithick Society are considering sponsoring a second print run,
so if that comes to pass, perhaps this book might become more easily
obtainable.
Russell Bennett
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