Prints

The Regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus) is the type species of the genus Sericulus established by William John Swainson in 1825, one of eight genera constituting the Australo-Papuan bowerbirds together forming the family of Ptilonorhynchidæ.. Although initially unrecognised as a bowerbird, the species became known to the European scientific community in 1808 through John William Lewin’s image in The Birds of New Holland, published in London. This paper focuses on the documentation and contextualisation of the earliest known depiction of the Regent bowerbird dated 1803 and not published until now and another early depiction produced prior to Lewin’s well-known auto-engraved plate.

The Peter Crossing Collection in Sydney recently acquired a set of engravings now identified as very early proof pulls made in London for Joseph Banks’s unpublished Plantarum omnium detectarum Terrarum maris au∫tralis de∫criptiones & figurae (Descriptions & illustrations of all the plants discovered in the lands of the Southern Sea). Professor David Mabberley compares it, the only set in private hands, to other extant sets; it is unique in that some of the engravings bear annotations likely by Banks and/or Daniel Solander, while 20 of the 32 pulls are unrepresented in other collections.

When a library was a necessity for a well-educated person, ownership of a book was indicated by the presence of a bookplate pasted into their books. While generic bookplates exist, book collectors often approached an artist to design an ex libris specifically for them, with their name and a design which reflected their interests, profession, activities or personality. James Stanton looks at some of the 40 bookplates designed by Melbourne artist Eric Thake over a 54-year span, and the people – often close friends – who asked him to design their personal bookplate.

As far as eating paraphernalia goes, Australiana has previously covered dining tables and chairs, sideboards, ceramic plates, silver table ornaments, Splayds and even tea towels. Megan Martin demonstrates that it is about time we looked at recipe books, particularly as these Queensland examples are illustrated with colourful and appealing artwork.