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MAYO, LESLIE ARNOLD : 1932 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF ONE ENGLISH ENGINEER'S SURVEYING AND SOJOURN IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is an interesting 1932 original manuscript diary handwritten by a young English mining engineer named Leslie Arnold Mayo, while surveying in Southern Rhodesia [currently Zimbabwe]. Using a large page per day 'Roneo Indexed Diaries', Mayo begins January 28th through to October 27th and while sparsely written with about 64 days of notes, there are many interesting entries: he mentions walking to Zaka hoping his 'desertion case' will be taken in the afternoon, borrowing a jacket so as not to be in contempt of court, and 'the boy got one month's hard for being absent without leave….There were four Europeans all on to one miserable native.' His living conditions are difficult having to move camp, living in tents and overall he is constantly tired, dealing with flies, caterpillars under his bedclothes and heat though he and his comrades do well shooting game. At one point a native boy threatens suicide and Mayo lectures him on hellfire and then fires him. A 'Kaffir Truck' delivers practical essentials for the Europeans like clothes and bedding for sale. He does a fair bit of reading and one has to smile at his comments regarding the the new book by Aldous Huxley 'Brave New World'! [If only Mr. Mayo knew!] Somewhat surprisingly we learn that Mayo is a romantic and in some passages he reveals a lovely soul: 'Coarseness is horrible + beauty divine. Perhaps life should be a search for the three divine attributes - Love, Beauty and Truth. I have the first but must never slack in my search for the other two.' Original boards, tooled and titled in gilt to front. Minor wear to spines and extremities, overall VG. Note: We list separately two diaries written by Mayo detailing his time in Siam managing a tin mine.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good

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