Agri Kultuur October / Oktober 2015 | Page 73

Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Marks Marks and his family on a visit to England c1903. From left to right are Girlie 1889, Joe 1892, Dolly 1897, Sammy, Louis 1885, Bertha and Phil 1900. Ted 1894 is absent Tobias Guttmann. Guttmann must have been quite impressed by the young Sammy. He eventually convinced Sammy that he should go to South Africa, a rather unknown destination at the time. He eventually provided a ships ticket and a box of Sheffield knives as starting capital. Sammy did well as a pedlar. After seven years in Sheffield he was well equipped for new ventures. In 1868 Sammy arrived in Cape Town and his peddling business thrived. Soon a distant cousin, Isaac Lewis, arrived from Lithuania to join Sammy and they floated the very reputable company Lewis and Marks. They remained partners for the rest of their lives. A relatively new development was quite irresistible to the two young The meeting of President Reitz of the Free State and President Kruger of the ZAR on the occasion of the joining of the Transvaal and Free State by railway, 21st May 1892. Sammy Marks stands fifth from the right. (Reitz and Kruger in tophats.) Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sammy_Marks02.jpg