Cassell's Picturesque Australasia
Edited by E.E Morris
With Original Illustrations
Published by Cassell & Company Limited: London, Melbourne etc 1887 - 1889
Complete 4 Volume Set In Original Decorated Red Cloth & Gilt Bindings - Profusely Illustrated - Handwritten 1891 Inscription
"Cassell's Picturesque Australasia, edited by E. E. Morris, is a substantial late-Victorian survey of Australia, New Zealand and the wider Australasian region, combining descriptive travel writing, history, geography and ethnographic observation with a rich programme of original illustrations. Issued by Cassell & Company between 1887 and 1889, the work captures the colonies during a period of rapid expansion and change, presenting major cities, rural districts, transport routes, landscapes and notable places in a format intended to be both informative and visually impressive.
The four volumes are profusely illustrated throughout with engraved views, portraits, topographical scenes and regional studies, including subjects from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Pacific. Among the many illustrations are views of colonial settlements, rivers, mountain scenery, railway and pastoral subjects, together with portraits and historical material relating to figures such as Captain Cook. The set also includes coloured maps, adding further value as a detailed visual record of the region in the late nineteenth century.
This example is especially attractive for retaining the complete four-volume set in the original decorated red cloth bindings, extensively blocked in black and gilt with pictorial Australian motifs to the covers and spines. The bindings are among the most appealing features of the work, with the bright red cloth, gilt lettering and decorative animal and botanical imagery giving the set considerable shelf presence. Internally, the volumes retain their numerous original illustrations and present as a handsome, cohesive set.
Of further interest is a handwritten Melbourne inscription dated 1891, giving the set a pleasing contemporary provenance only a short time after publication. A highly decorative and desirable example of one of the major illustrated Australasian reference works of the Victorian period, particularly well suited to collectors of early Australian travel, colonial history, illustrated books and Australiana."
