I will not be having a book stall at the conference as I will attending the lectures and harrassing the speakers. Any books pre-ordered will get 20% off, pay for them when you see me.
MENDIP MINING COMPANY - Share Certificate No 995 dated 14th November 1856. A genuine reproduction in a nice glazed mahogany looking frame. £10.00
INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF MAN by T A Bawden et al. 1972 266 pp 25 photos, 18 maps and illus. Definitive book on the mines of the Isle of Man. HB DW VG £38.00
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD: / A Mirror of / Life Below the Surface / with vivid descriptions of the / Hidden works of Nature and Art / comprising / Incidents and Adventures beyond the light of day. / Interesting Sketches / of Mines and mining in all parts of the world - caves and their mysteries - famous tunnels - down in the depth of the sea. Volcanoes and their eruptions - petroleum - underground life of man and lower animals. Subterranean work of the Ancients. Buried treasure etc, etc. Profusely illustrated by Thos W Knox 1876 Hartford USA. 1016 pp 125 steel engravings. Despite this book's verbose title, (and its description of the 'Gambling Hells of Baden') this is a nicely illustrated mining book. HB some wear, title page in photocopy. £39.00
IDROGEOLOGIA DEL BACINO MINERARIO DELL’IGLESIENTE [Hydrogeology of the Mining River Basin of the Iglesiente] by Massimo Civita et al 1983 137 pp, 21 colour photos, 2 large colour maps in a folder at the rear, hydrology of Iglesiente and Geology of Iglesiente, numerous illus and tables. Published as Part 2, Series II, Memorie dell’Istituto Italiano di Speleologia. This is a detail account of the Pb, Zn mines of the area. Large scale mining started very early and reached ground-water level in the 18th century. Since 1870 better technology enabled miners to reach a depth of 200 m below sea level. SB In Italian with English summary £9.00
CAVE PHOTOGRAPHY Practical guide by Chris Howes 1987, 67 pp numerous plates and diagrams. Long out of print. covers equipment, preparations, flash etc. The same principals apply to mining photography. SB£9.00
THE ABANDONED MINES OF WEST CARBERRY /Promoters, Adventurers, and Mines by D Cowman and T A Reilly 164 pp, illus. SB. A true account of daring and skulduggery. SB £12.00
GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY AROUND DUNGANNON by A Fowler et al, Memoirs of the Geological Survey. 1961 274 pp illus. HB ex library. £25.00
GRAZING SLATE The North Wales Slate Landscapes by Roger Tilley 1994 with an introduction by Dr Merfyn Jones 35 pp, and 41 plates and 41 pages un-numbered, location map. A fine record of a fast disappearing landscape. SB £15.00
REGIONAL GEOLOGY OF NORTHERN IRELAND, Geological Survey of Northern Island by H E Wilson 1972 115 pp, illus. SB £5.00
THE MINES OF SCOTLAND: A BIBLIOGRAPHY by Tony Oldham Feb 2009 100 pp. It could be argued that if you want to research the mines of Scotland, all you would need are Landless 1993, Wilson 1921 and access to Google. The bibliography goes a little further. It lists some national grid references and some mines discovered after 1993. The mines are listed first by minerals and then by counties. To save paper the bibliography is available on a CD for £3.00 or free as an attachment from:
[email protected]MINE ENGRAVINGS Please quote list ME1/2009
1. Fahlun-Minen. A Swedish Iron Mine which could be mistaken for a cave, except for the gantry above it. 10.5 x 16 cm £5.00
2 Fammer Przykos in dem Salzberwerken von Wielietzka. C Reiss del. B Metzroth sc. Showing a boat on a lake in the Wielietzka Salt Mine, Poland. 11 x 14.5 cm. £5.00
HALF HOURS UNDERGROUND / Volcanoes, mines and caves 1905 369 pp numerous steel engravings including: Explosion of fire-damp; Tin mine ar St Just; Woman of the mine; Miners at work; Explosion in a coal mine, etc. In publishers original blue cloth, with picture cover in gold of the Grotte of Antiparos. HB tight binding,spine rubbed top and bottom, with foxing on the new eps and title page, but cover and rest of book very bright. HB £9.00
THE RISE AND FALL OF MINING COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL AYRSHIRE IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES by Gavin Wark published by the Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society - no 22 Sept 1999. Chapters include: The Geology of the Central Ayrshire coalfield; The rise of mining communities in the Drongan area; etc; also has a list of mines, owner, number of employees, when closed etc 53 pages SB £3.00
YESTERDAY’S GALCONDAS / notable British metal mines by R H Bird 1977 140 pp, photos average, more than one a page. Ex library. DW HB £9.00
MINING / AYRSHIRE’S LOST INDUSTRY by Guthrie Hutton 1996 112 pp, many photos, about 2 a page. key words: the coal mines of Auchinlech, Cumnock, Dalmellington ,Patna etc. SB New £14.45
SUNART STRONTIAN LEAD MINES SCOTLAND Sunart Change and Survival. This an A3 sheet, folded up to make 12 pages in colour. One page is devoted to the Strontian Lead Mines. £1.00 or free with order.
HAFODLAS SLATE QUARRY by Griff R Jones 1999 209 pp 58 plates, 37 drawings. This is the finest example of Industrial Archaeological research of the decade, probably the century! A group of five dedicated enthusiasts spent 7,500 man hours over a period of four years investigating this little known slate quarry. The entire quarry was densely covered with undergrowth and heavily wooded. But like an Inca Temple in a Peruvian jungle, the remains of a slate mill poked through the foliage. This book describes their findings, a unique slate quarry that employed labour saving techniques years ahead of the neighbouring quarries. Also included is a thorough in-depth archival research bringing to life, the story of the owners and workers. SB £16.00 post free
CONISTON COPPER MINES / A FIELD GUIDE by Eric G Holland 1981rare first edition 119 pp 54 figs surveys etc. Describes 62 mines, essential reading for every explorer. Long out of print SB £8.00
A TREATISE ON METALLIFEROUS MINERALS AND MINING by D C Davies. Sixth edition, edited by his son E Henry Davies 1901 526 pp, about 150 illus, HB, publishers original cloth with a section of a mine on the front cover picked out in gold. Both covers show signs of wear, but this is nice tight copy otherwise in good condition. £65.00
THE OLD METAL MINES OF MID-WALES PART 2--CARDIGANSHIRE----THE RHEIDOL TO GOGINAN, FIRST PUBLISHED 1975. AND PART 4--WEST MONTGOMERYSHIRE FIRST PUBLISHED 1977, both by David E Bick, usual handling wear on well read books, all pages present and none loose, some interesting b/w photos of old mine workings/machinery etc long out of print £6.00 each
MINING IN THE HRVATSKO ZAGORJE [meaning Croatian upland or hinterland. It is a historic region north of Zagreb, Croatia. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica]by Vlasta Krklec 2009 51 pp, many illus, about one a page many in colour. Mainly coal mining although clay and sulphur were also quarried. In Croatian and English, half and half. SB £10.00
GEOLOSKI VJESNIK [Geological Bulletin] Vol 43 Zagreb 1990 120 pp, illus. mainly geological papers, in Croation with English summaries. Also contains 4 papers on mining:
Bauxites of the Sinj area in Middle Dalmatia with mine section
Siderite-baritepolysulfide deposits and early continental rifting in Dinarides [in English]
Iron-ore Deposites in the Kosna re Fiels, Trgovska Mountain, Croatia [in English] with mine plans
Paragenetic and Genetic Characteristics and Mode of Occurence of some Gold-bearing Copper Deposits in Island Sumatra, Indonesia [in English]
SB £10.00
MINING IN A MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE. The Royal Silver Mines of the Tamar Valley by Stephen Rippon, Peter Claughton and Chris Smart 2009 207 pp, numerous illustrations.
The royal silver mines at Bere Ferrers which started operating in 1296, to provide silver for minting coins, represented a major departure in medieval English industry. Directly controlled by the Crown, they were deeper, more intensive, and employed many more workers than anything that had gone before, requiring the founding of what was probably Britain's first town purpose built for miners at Bere Alston in the Tamar Valley on the Cornwall / Devon border. SB £20.00
THE CAVES AND MINES OF ANGLESEY by Tony Oldham January 2006 ix + 57 pp, illus, surveys, 3 pages of colour photos. Anglesey is overshadowed by the great Parys Mountain copper mine. This book describes many of the smaller mines including the long forgotten coal mines at Berw. Usual gazetteer style: name, NGR description and references. SB £7.50
DISCOVER THE BRONZE AGE AT GREAT ORME MINES 2004 23 pp in full colour. With passages so small they must have been worked by children. SB £3.00
COAL MINES AND MINERS by Miles Tomalin 1960 79 pp, numerous illus, HB DW. A good all round introduction to coal mining. £10.00
THE DISAPPEARING SCOTTISH COAL INDUSTRY / A Personal View of some aspects of Scotland’s Coal industry since Nationalisation by Robert S Halliday 1990 199 pp, 6 tables, 7 diagrams. HB £15.00
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH COAL INDUSTRY. Published by the National Coal Board Scottish Division 1st impression 1958 116 pp, colour frontis, 24 plates, 21 figs. HB £15.00
THIS IS MY KINGDOM by Charles Brister with a forward by an unknown miner 1972 236 pp, illus. The reminisces of a Scottish miner. HB £15.95
A MINER’S LASS, memories by Mary Docherty 1992 281 pp, illus. The story of a Fife miner black listed in 1921. HB £15.00
BLAWEARIE or Ming life in the Lothians forty years ago [ 1847?] by Peter M’Neill 1887 190 pp, SB. Lacks spine. Binding is very loose and cover grubby. A rare item, well worth the cost of rebinding. £25.00
GEOLOGY / Minerals, Mines and Soils of IRELAND in reference to the Amelioration and Industrial Prosperity of the Country by Joseph Holdsworth Esq MGSF & c. 1857 240 pp, couple of steel engravings. I have listed 25 references to mining. HB some wear at top and bottom of the spine. Original publishers in embossed red cloth. £110.00
THE GEOLOGY OF NORTHERN SKYE by F W Anderson and K C Dunham 1966 216 pp, illus. Essential for anybody studying the mines and mineralogy of Skye. SB, front cover creased, otherwise, good condition. £10.00
MAPS / DISCOVERY SERIES / Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Price New £8.25. From us, as new under half price £4.00 each. Ideal for locating both caves and mines.
Discovery Series No 3 Donegal Derry
Discovery Series No 56 Wicklow, Dublin, Kildare
Discovery Series No 57 Clare
Discovery Series No 62 Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow
Discovery Series No 66 Tipperary, Limerick
Discovery Series No 70 Kerry [West]
Discovery Series No 71 Kerry [East]
Discovery Series No 75 Kilkenny, Tipperarry, Waterford
Discovery Series No 83 Kerry
Discovery Series No 85 Cork, Kerry
Discovery Series No 88 Cork [west used]
Discovery Series No 89 Cork [east]
Discovery Series No 83 Kerry
All at £4.00 each
THE METAL MINES OF WEST CORK by Diane Hodnett, [2010] 288 pp, 230 figs, some in colour. SB. Although many mines have long since fallen in or have been filled in, many adits are still open and ripe for exploration. This book gives the latest information, with maps and photos. SB £16.99 NEW
A PARTIAL INDEX TO THE MINING JOURNAL 1835 to 1860 and other mining references by Tony Oldham. Cardigan 2006, 58 pp. I make no claim that this modest index is complete or even far reaching. It was compiled for my own benefit, and closely reflects my interests in the mines in Wales, where I have lived for 25 years, Mendip, where I have caved for 25 years and Bristol where I lived for 25 years. The sentence was served concurrently. Not being particularly interested in coal, except perhaps in Pembrokeshire, references to the many south Wales coal mines have been omitted. Ideally this index should be purchased as a MS word file, then you can do your own searches, correct my many spelling errors and even add your own references. I have tried to adhere to the original spelling of places names, even though many are known to be wrong. In the 1800’s many Welsh mines were financed by English capitalists who wrote the Welsh names phonetically. Today I tend to do the opposite and pronounce Welsh names as if there were written in English hence I would call Llangollen, “Lan gol en” instead of “th gothen” as a Welsh speaker might pronounce it. Ask two Welshmen how to spell Talybont and you will get three answers: Talybont, Tal-y-bont or Tal y Bont. Only available as a download, POA.
HASTENED TO THEIR ETERNITY or TALES FROM THE MINING JOURNAL by Tony Oldham Cardigan 2001 16 pp. One of my favourite pastimes is reading the Mining Journal. In order to do this, once a week I get up at the crack of dawn and drive to the National Library at Aberystwyth the location of one of the few remaining sets of the Journal. Although many people have consulted the Mining Journal (or MJ as I will refer to it from now on), only one other person appears to have published an index [Claughton 1995]. I started my search of the Journal by looking up references on the mines of Anglesey, kindly provided by Jeremy S Wilkinson. I was soon side tracked into collecting references to other mining areas including the Mendip Hills and the Forest of Dean. Whilst I was thus engaged my wife Anne would be slaving away at the local FE College, and when we met for lunch the conversation would centre around what I had read that morning. I would related the tragic and gory accidents that had been recorded. My wife said that I should record these anecdotes as they would make a good book, so here it is. Only available as a download, POA.
THE WELSH BORDERLAND / British Regional Geology by R W Pocock and T H Whitehead 2nd edition 1948, 9th impression 1964 80 pp, 39 figs, 10 plates, large map. Includes the Newent Coalfields, Coal Measures of Abberley Hills; Shrewsbury Coalfields. SB £3.00
NORTH WALES British Regional Geology by Bernard Smith and T Neville George 3rd edition 1961, 2nd impression 1966 97 pp, 36 illus, 12 plates, SB. Minerals in Cambrian rocks; Pisolithic Iron ores and Slates etc. SB £3.00
ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS
All are essential for exploring mines or caves in the area:
Secondhand but good condition, all at £1.00 each
ORDNANCE SURVEY 1:50 000 First Series Bude & Clovelly Sheet 190
ORDNANCE SURVEY 1:50 000 First Series 193 Taunton & Lyme Regis
ORDNANCE SURVEY 1:50 000 First Series 191 Okehampton and North Dartmoor
ORDNANCE SURVEY 1:50 000 First Series 201 Plymouth and Launceston
I have moved to a smaller house and need to reduce my collection of mining books. Postage extra. The more books you buy, the cheaper the postage. Revised 01/07/2011 Contact me on
[email protected] or
Tony Oldham, 26 Railway Terrace, Cwmparc, Treorchy, CF42 6LW, United Kingdom
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Cutting coal in my spare time.