Author: Galloway, Sir William [1840 - 1927]. Johnston, Louis Campbell; Slade, Henry - Former owners
Title: A REPORT On A DEPOSIT Of OZOKERITE in the Slanic Valley, Roumania. 1903
Description: [Cardiff]: , 1903. Limited edition. SIGNED by Galloway at the report's conclusion. Red cloth binding with gilt stamped title lettering to front cover. 8, [1]; 4; 9 ll typescript. 2 Appendices: (1) Translated Lease, (2) The Ozokerite Mines and Oil Wells at Boryslaw in Australian Poland. Report illustrated with 3 mss colour maps (1 large folding linen-backed 8 panel) depicting the area. 3 sheets of mss colour plans. 8 silver gelatin mounted photographs [2 hand-tinted], ranging in size from 3-1/4" x 2-1/2" to 8-1/2" x 6", all used to illustrate divers points in Galloway's text. Folio. 14-1/8" x 8-5/8". General wear & soiling to binding. Calling card, "Mr Henry Slade", to ffep. Prior owner marginalia, with much pencil underlining of relevant text. Very Good. Galloway a famed Victorian mining engineer educated first in Scotland, then in Germany & London. He spent much of his life as an Inspector of Mines, before being offered the post of Professor of Mining at the University College of Wales. He devoted much of his life to tirelessly improving the lot of miners and working to determine the causes of explosions and accidents in mines, as well as finding ways of preventing them or alleviating their impact. His efforts were eventually recognised by the country when in 1924, at the age of 83, he was knighted. [Wiki]. In 1902. Galloway retired from university life to become a travelling consultant on mining issues. This a rare report of Galloway's wherein he assesses the situation in Roumania regarding the mining of ozokerite, a valuable, naturally-occuring waxy substance with wide diverse uses such as candles, cosmetics, electrical insulation, and such products as tissue paper. In the initial nine pages of text, Galloway details the size of the vein, the types of mining operations, the mines themselves, as well as how the mine is legally leased and licensed. He describes the condition of the mines, how the workers extract the material from the ore, as well as how waste is handled. Of interest is a section where Galloway notes that there is a great deal of oil running under the mine that must be continually burned off, and that such oil is similar to oil he has seen in America & Russia. One infers the report's purpose is two-fold: assess the current mine operation for possible investors, and second, determine whether it would be profitable for oil production. We find no record of this report in any of the expected on-line catalogues: BL, COPAC, & OCLC. Rare.

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