Words On Paper

If you like true stories about real people, are intrigued by serendipity, curious about curiosities, or maybe you are a collector yourself, then this book is for you.
The collecting and researching of any collectable is an intense and pleasurable pastime. The author’s passion for more than half a century has been for collecting handwritten, original letters, antique documents, manuscripts, old share certificates, fire insurance policies, photographs, and maps.
The writers of these words on paper include kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, admirals and generals, actors and authors, judges and prisoners, philosophers, statesmen, scientists, and sportsmen. Some were famous, some infamous, some important, others less so. Many you will know about; with others, only their names may be familiar. There’s Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington; there are queens Elizabeth I of England and Elizabeth II; kings George III, George IV, and George VI; presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Paul Kruger, and Nelson Mandela; prime ministers P. W. Botha, J. B. M. Hertzog, and Jan Smuts; explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. There’s Michael Faraday and Koos de la Rey, and many more, including two controversial giants of history — Napoleon Bonaparte and Cecil Rhodes.

The chapters need not be read in any set order, although there is an underlying thread linking them to the life of the author that enabled this eclectic collection to evolve in the way it did.