A stroll through the Brisbane Art Gallery recently brought back unexpected memories of Cyclone Tracy. There in a glass case was an open volume of part of the l883-86 Picturesque Atlas of Australasia , displaying engravings by leading artists. Originally sold in 42 parts , it was eventually sold in three bound volumes. I had bought two half leather bound volumes at a Sydney auction of Australiana from the collection of a noted bibliophile, and brought them with me to Darwin in l972 along with some framed drawings of Darwin in WW11, also bought at auction . With magnificent engravings and coloured maps, and detailed chapters on the settlement of Australia and the Pacific, the Atlas volumes were treasured .
As Cyclone Tracy hammered away at the house, I placed the volumes in a high cupboard … and away they went when the roof was ripped off. One sodden volume was found but the other had disappeared . Reluctant to part with the lumpy survivor, I dried it out and put it aside. The WW11 drawings of Darwin had to be tossed out.
Moving to Adelaide years later , the sad looking , water stained Atlas was treated and many of the engravings saved and framed . An erratic artist hand- tinted some for me, including a view of Townsville with shipping in the foreground and Castle Hill looming large. A number of pictures now hang on the wall in Darwin , showing signs of foxing , waiting for the next blow or quake. Pride of place is held by a fine engraving by that adventurous painter of wildflowers and birds, the petite Ellis Rowan,who ventured into remote parts of North Australia and New Guinea . She also spent time in America illustrating a book on American flora by Alice Lounsberry . Other pictures include Reverend Samuel “ Flogger” Marsden meeting Maoris in the Bay of Islands , an Ostrich Farm near Port Augusta and a carved gateway at an old Maori Pah .
There was a time in Australia when many photocopying machines almost melted running off copies of Atlas engravings which flooded the nation . At one stage I had the personal bookplate of F.B. Schell , the American art editor of the Atlas . McCulloch’s Dictionary of Australian Art says the Atlas had a major impact on black and white art in Australia and influenced the high standards of the early Bulletin magazine, only recently blown away by the financial blizzard still sweeping the world .
As Cyclone Tracy hammered away at the house, I placed the volumes in a high cupboard … and away they went when the roof was ripped off. One sodden volume was found but the other had disappeared . Reluctant to part with the lumpy survivor, I dried it out and put it aside. The WW11 drawings of Darwin had to be tossed out.
Moving to Adelaide years later , the sad looking , water stained Atlas was treated and many of the engravings saved and framed . An erratic artist hand- tinted some for me, including a view of Townsville with shipping in the foreground and Castle Hill looming large. A number of pictures now hang on the wall in Darwin , showing signs of foxing , waiting for the next blow or quake. Pride of place is held by a fine engraving by that adventurous painter of wildflowers and birds, the petite Ellis Rowan,who ventured into remote parts of North Australia and New Guinea . She also spent time in America illustrating a book on American flora by Alice Lounsberry . Other pictures include Reverend Samuel “ Flogger” Marsden meeting Maoris in the Bay of Islands , an Ostrich Farm near Port Augusta and a carved gateway at an old Maori Pah .
There was a time in Australia when many photocopying machines almost melted running off copies of Atlas engravings which flooded the nation . At one stage I had the personal bookplate of F.B. Schell , the American art editor of the Atlas . McCulloch’s Dictionary of Australian Art says the Atlas had a major impact on black and white art in Australia and influenced the high standards of the early Bulletin magazine, only recently blown away by the financial blizzard still sweeping the world .
