VIEWS AUST GENERAL

Interesting colonial engraving of Mallee scrub with a group of aborigines digging in a Mallee Hen's mound.

Chevalier was born in St Petersburg, Russia. He studied painting in Switzerland, moving to London in 1851 achieving some success in painting and lithography. He arrived at Melbourne in 1855, visited the goldfields, attended to his father's business and planned his return to Europe but the newly-established Melbourne Punch and later, the Illustrated Australian News found his talents invaluable and he decided to stay. He was very popular as artist for Melbourne Punch and in establishing himself in Melbourne colonial society as a painter and lithographer. After exploring and painting in many parts of Victoria, Chevalier visited New Zealand where he travelled widely, painting landscapes that reminded him of his ancestral home. From 1882 he was London adviser to the National Gallery of New South Wales. He died in London on 15 March 1902.

This fine engraving by the Nicholas Chevalier is from the original edition of Edwin Carton Booths, series titled, “Australia Illustrated”, produced soon after the the discovery of gold in Australia. The great interest created by the gold discovery created a a demand from prospective emigrants and the wealthy who wanted to invest in Australia and needed information on the colony. This series intended as an elaborate and exhaustive survey took ten years to produce. A number of artists were commissioned to provide sketches and drawings for this monumental endeavor, many accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh who traveled to Australia on board the H.M.S. Galatea.

Fabulous colonial image of a 'bushie' breaking a horse.

This rare engraving is from the original edition of the The Australasian Sketcher, an illustrated newspaper which was published in Melbourne from 1873 to 1889. It was issued on a monthly basis and included a number of high quality engravings to illustrate the news and article. The reason it was issued on a monthly basis was due to the time consuming process of engraving the illustrations which would take one engraver between one and two weeks to make each engraving. This is also coincided with the monthly shipping of mail to England.
The engravings provided a unique glimpse into colonial life, often depicting situations or scenes that were less than flattering, in contrast to the majority of sanctioned views that provided a sanitized portrayal of life in Australia. Increasingly expensive to produce, the few illustrated newspapers that made use of original engravings for their illustrations, and that survived the economic collapse of the late1880's found themselves competing against the new technology of photographic produced half-tone and lino type processes the illustrations. By the turn of the century most had disappeared. Many famous Australian colonial artists were employed such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Oswald Rose Campbell, Alfred James Daplyn, Samuel Calvert and Elizier Levi Montefiore.
Many famous Australian colonial artists were employed such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Oswald Rose Campbell, Alfred James Daplyn, Samuel Calvert and Elizier Levi Montefiore.
Due to their ephemeral nature few have survived.

From the original edition of the Illustrated Sydney News.

The Illustrated Sydney News, which was published from 1854 to 1889 and included a number of high quality engravings to illustrate the accompanying news and articles. It was issued on a monthly basis due to the time consuming process of having to engrave each illustration which would take one engraver between one and two weeks to make each one.
Many famous Australian colonial artists and illustrators were employed in the making of them, such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Charles Conder, Samuel Calvert, Frank Mahony and Arthur Collingridge. The engravings provided a unique glimpse into colonial life, often depicting situations or scenes that were less than flattering, in contrast to the majority of sanctioned views that provided a sanitised portrayal of life in Australia. Increasingly expensive to produce, the few illustrated newspapers that made use of original engravings for their illustrations, and that survived the economic collapse of the late1880's found themselves competing against the new technology of photographic produced half-tone and lino type processes the illustrations. By the turn of the century most of the illustrated newspaper had closed.

Due to their ephemeral nature few have survived.

This engraving is one a series made in anticipation of
Australia’s centenary. Many notable artists contributed to it.

This lithograph is one a series made for Victoria’s the celebration of fifty years of settlement. It traced its prosperity to the discovery of gold in the 1850’s.