South Australia Illustrated
Sydney, A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1967 (facsimile edition)/ 1847.
Imperial folio, 10 pages plus an additional colour pictorial title page, 60 colour plates each with (at least) one leaf of descriptive text, and facsimile covers of the original ten parts. The leaflet of 'Notes on the production' of the work, originally loosely inserted, is now attached to the front free endpaper with a small piece of paper tape (pulling away a little). The detailed notes relate to eight plates, and are prefaced by the following: 'In the preparation of this facsimile volume minor typographical inconsistencies in the original have not been corrected. The following notes are given so the purchasers may know that what may seem to be mistakes are in fact faithful reproductions from the original volume'.
Half gilt-decorated morocco and marbled papered boards, top edge gilt; leather lightly scuffed; papered boards lightly rubbed along the edges; leading edge lightly fingermarked; a very good copy (internally in excellent condition).
One of 1000 copies of this high-quality facsimile. The illustrations comprise views of the fledgling city of Adelaide and outlying settlements, the topography, flora and fauna, and the Indigenous people and their lives. Some 22 of the 60 plates (and the accompanying leaves of text) are devoted exclusively to the region's Aborigines; there are numerous portraits (usually four or more to a page), plus groups of artefacts and scenes of daily life from different areas. Aborigines are depicted incidentally on the pictorial title page and in a further five plates.
Item #137835
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