The London Journal And Weekly Record Of Literature, Science And Art.
Vol. VIII
Published by G. Vickers: London 1849
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The London Journal and Weekly Record of Literature, Science and Art - Volume VIII (1849), published by G. Vickers, exemplifies the rich diversity of mid-Victorian periodical culture. This volume combines serialized fiction, poetry, essays on science and industry, travel writing, moral instruction, and commentary on art and society, appealing to a rapidly expanding middle-class readership. Its serialized tales—often moral or sentimental in tone—sit alongside informative articles on new inventions, scientific phenomena, and historical retrospectives, presenting a blend of enlightenment and entertainment characteristic of popular British weeklies of the era. The illustrations throughout the volume, engraved in fine detail, complement the text by bringing far-flung locations, artistic works, and scenes of domestic life vividly to the reader's imagination.
A particularly notable feature of this volume is the substantial illustrated article on Fremantle, Western Australia, accompanied by a striking engraving depicting the port and settlement as it appeared in the late 1840s. The article describes the town's development from a fledgling penal and trading outpost into a modest yet promising colonial port, highlighting its harbour, stone buildings, and the surrounding landscape of the Swan River Colony. It comments on the colony's growing agricultural and maritime prospects while noting the challenges of isolation and harsh conditions. For contemporary readers, this piece offered one of the earliest pictorial and descriptive glimpses of Western Australia to appear in a widely circulated British journal—reflecting Britain's evolving perception of its distant colonies not merely as penal sites, but as emerging societies of enterprise and endurance."
General wear to covers and spine as shown. Binding is excellent with no loose pages. Pages with a pleasant aged patina otherwise clean and well presented. An excellent copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
