Here we have a very spectacular beard indeed, belonging to Petrus Jacobus "Piet" Joubert, born on the 20th of January 1831.
His name sounds very Dutch, but his parents were French. They died whilst he was quite young, after which he relocated to the Transvaal, and became a farmer.
He also developed quite an interest in the law, and in his early thirties he was elected to Parliament. He also served as Attorney-General, Chairman, and, even, briefly, Acting-President. He was Vice President, twice. And he did try, four times, to become President, but each time was beaten by Paul Kruger.
Today, historians believe that some of these election results may have not been completely honest. However it must be said that Joubert could have been a difficult President; he was very forthright, and never afraid to stand up for what he believed in, something which could well have led to him being denied his victory, if indeed he was. Reading reports of both men it definitely seems that Mr. Kruger was more of a peacemaker, and Mr. Joubert a fighter.
These opinions led directly to his taking a stance against the British , who were trying to gain control of South Africa; and to what became known as the Boer War. He was not only a military leader, he actually went out and took part in the fighting - though he was also involved with making peace at the end, which resulted in the end of the First Boer War. Sadly this turned out not to be an everlasting peace, and there was a Second Boer War, and not long after.
His death, aged sixty-eight, came on the 28th of March, 1900, from peritonitis. The cause of this is not known; some newspaper reports of the time say he had been suffering from a stomach complaint, whilst others blame it on the fact that three months earlier, in November 1899, he had been thrown from his horse, whilst on a raid against opposing forces.
Our card comes from the first series of this set, or the "Livre d`Or 500 Celebrites Contemporaines" - because the second series is inscribed on the cards as being part of the "2e Livre d`Or 500 Celebrites Contemporaines".
It`s easier than that though, because the first set is numbered 1-500 and the second from 501-1000.
We can also date ours, more or less, from an additional curving line on the right of the reverse, "Medailles d`Or aux Expositions Universelles ou 1889 a 1900" which translates to "Gold Medals at the Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900"
You can see some of the cards, from both of the series, at The Movie Card Website/GBCC. However, there seems to be no pattern as to the order of issue - the cards surrounding ours being :
- 146, Dausset, député de Paris
- 147. Ruau, ministre de l'agriculture
- 148. Chamberlain, ministre Anglais
- 149. Joubert, general Boer
- 150. Jules Lemaitre, ecrivain
- 151. Princesse de Galles