Opal Men

by P. Vin Wake

A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1969, [First Edition], black and white photographic plates, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, previous owners gift inscription on reverse half-title page, dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor rubbing and bumping to edges and corners (see photographs)

“Ninety-Five per cent of the world’s opals come from a handful of remote Australian settlements.  Coober Pedy, Lightening Ridge, Andamooka – they may be far away outback, but to most Australians they are familiar names, for here Romance still thrives …
Vin Wake, veteran prospector and latterly an opal buyer, tells the fascinating story that began with Professor Johann Menge (1788-1852), the eccentric but gifted “father” of Australian mineralogy, and carries through, giving fresh interest on every page, to the mechanised age of the late 1960s.
Opal country is tough, remote, and sun-parched.  The prospector’s work is hard and often dangerous.  It’s rewards can be fantastically generous – and, heart-breakingly nil.  The Opal Men (and Women) are therefore likely to be “characters”, and this book proves the point in no uncertain fashion.”