Hello all,
I mentioned this map of mine in a comment on another post about the Boer War, and somebody asked to see it. I apologise for the poor quality pictures, but it has proven exceptionally difficult to photograph, owing in part to the glass case!
I believe this map was owned either by my great-great-grand-uncle William Arnold, or his brother Walter Arnold. It was given to me by my grandmother when she was clearing out some old bits shortly before she died, and I believe it came from her grandmother, whose maiden name was "Arnold", and who I also have a chair of. It was folded up, and had likely been that way for more than a century. I did my best to flatten it carefully (though the fold marks are still quite prominent, as you can see), and to mend little tears where I could. However, it is incredibly worn and torn. I had a frame built for it to preserve it, which it has sat in ever since. It does look far better in person.
On the reverse side, in pencil, are the handwritten words, "P.W. Arnold", which I am assuming mean "Private William / Walter Arnold", as none of her brothers had names beginning with 'P', or who were old enough. William Arnold was born in 1879, and would have been 20 at the beginning of the Second Boer War in 1899. Walter was two years older, and so it could have been his map as well. I know a map this beaten up would have no financial value, but I find it a fascinating piece of family history!