1904 A Southern Garland Antique Australian Poetry Fiction Book The Bulletin News

The collection reflects the flowering of Australian poetry and literary nationalism at the turn of the twentieth century. Rather than a single work, A Southern Garland gathers together six separately issued booklets, each retaining its own title pages and identity within the larger volume. The anthology is enriched with portrait plates of the contributing authors and provides a fascinating snapshot of the literary culture fostered by The Bulletin, the influential publication often described as the "Bushman's Bible" and instrumental in promoting distinctly Australian voices.

This 1904 first edition survives in its original decorated cloth bindings and is one of the standard issue copies from the edition of 1,975. The volume possesses considerable appeal to collectors of Australiana, Australian poetry and Bulletin publications. Combining handsome production with important literary associations, it stands as an enduring testament to the writers and editors who helped shape Australia's national literature in the years immediately following Federation. Despite some scattered foxing as evident, the book remains an increasingly uncommon and highly desirable example of early twentieth-century Australian publishing."