Australia (New Holland): Map of New South Wales Colony

Artist or Author: David Collins

Work: An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales

Date of Publication: 1798

Style: Engraving with Recent Professional Hand-coloring

Paper Size: ~ 11" by 8 1/4"

Condition: The work is in good to excellent condition overall. There is a small chip at the lower edge. Some of the engravings from this work may have trimmed plate marks due to the nature of the printing and binding process. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Description of the work: This historical, first edition engraving is from David Collins's An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales. The work was published in London in 1798 for T. Cadell & W. Davies. The work was a substantial account of the first Australian settlement and featured many images of early life in Sydney as well as Parramatta. The engravings were prepared by the artist Edward Dayes after sketches completed by the convict artist, Thomas Watling.

Collins arrived with the First Fleet as Judge-Advocate and was Secretary (and friend) to Governor Phillip. His work served as a valuable account of life early on in the settlement of Australia. He resided there for ten years, and his publication was the last of the Australian foundation books to be published. It is often described as the earliest history of Australia as an English colony. Collins was the longest serving of the First-Fleeters. His work provided insight into daily life of the English settlers as well as aboriginal life. David Collins wrote “the most painstaking of all accounts of the First Fleet voyage and the first settlement... and the last of the First Fleet journals, aptly described as the first history of New South Wales."

“Collins went out to Australia with the first convict fleet as deputy judge-advocate on Governor Arthur Phillip’s staff. He was also secretary to the governor and the second most powerful man in the colony. This is the first official account of the colony, prepared upon Collins’ return to England, describing the first ten years of the settlement. Collins later returned again to Australia to found a new colony, finally establishing it at what is now called Hobart… He served as lieutenant-governor of Van Dieman’s land (Tasmania) until his death in 1810.” (Hill 335)