Picturesque Atlas of Australia

A lavishly illustrated descriptive work which also covers the history, geography and development of the Australian colonies, NZ, and parts of the Pacific (e.g. New Guinea, Fiji), was a publishing enterprise initiated by American book salesman Silas Lyon Moffett and J.W. Lyon, who had worked on the successful Picturesque Canada (1882-85). They interested a number of Australian journalists and artists in an equivalent Australian project, and the Picturesque Atlas Publishing Company was formed with William Macleod as chairman. The Picturesque Atlas was published in parts (?1883-86) and as a three volume set in 1886; it was several times reprinted and updated, e.g. in 1892 as Australasia Unlimited, but the publishing venture was unsuccessful and the methods used to promote the work led to changes to the law to protect consumers. Andrew Garran was nominal editor with F.J. Broomfield and F.J. Donohue as assistant editors. Literary contributors included Broomfield, Donohue, G.B. Barton, James Smith, W.H. Traill, Baron von Mueller and Ada Cambridge (writing as Ada Cross). Artists whose work was featured in the Atlas, which was significant not only for the quality of its wood-engravings but also because the project brought artists and engravers to Australia who had experience with recently developed techniques, were F.B. Schell, Macleod, Frank Mahony, A.H. Fullwood, Tom Roberts, and Julian Rossi Ashton.

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