954703
- TitleAlbum of original drawings by Captain James Wallis and Joseph Lycett, ca. 1817-1818, bound with 'An Historical account of the Colony of New South Wales ...', published London, Rudolph Ackermann, 1821
- Creator
- Call numberSAFE/PXE 1072
- Level of descriptionfonds
- Date
ca. 1817-1821 - Type of material
- Reference code954703
- Issue CopyDigitised
- Physical Description1 album (37 drawings) - pen and ink, watercolour
- Collection historyThe volume, being the personal copy of James Wallis, was given by Wallis to his wife Mary Ann in 1857, and by her to Wallis’ nephew, Lt-Col. Alexander Taylor in 1866. Another volume of drawings by James Wallis, assembled by Mary Ann Wallis, was presented to Lt-Col. Alexander Tayler by Mary Ann, on 22 January 1866, in Prestbury. This volume is held at Mitchell Library Call no. PXD 1008/vol. 2.
- Scope and ContentA grangerised volume of James Wallis' ‘An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales...'. London : Printed For R. Ackermann, Repository Of Arts, Strand, by J. Moyes, Greville Street, 1821. It includes original drawings, watercolours, and collages by James Wallis and Joseph Lycett including views, portraits of Aboriginal people, botanical, and natural history illustrations.
The cover is marbleised boards, with black leather spine and corners, gilt decoration; titled 'New South Wales’ in gilt lettering on spine.
FRONT COVER
Three hand-coloured engravings, laid down, of a pair of kangaroos; pair of black swans; and platypus.
With the exception of the platypus, the cover images are from Wallis’ ‘Australian Views...' (1820) and 'An Historical Account of the colony of New South Wales...’ (1821).
FRONT ENDPAPERS
Four pen and ink drawings, possibly created using a Camera Lucida, laid down on endpapers.
Pastedown endpaper:
[Top]
[View of twin waterfalls and wooded landscape], 25th July 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans].
Relates to plate ‘Bathurst’s Falls, Drawn by Major Taylor from a Sketch by Mr. Evans’, in John Oxley’s ‘Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales, undertaken by Order of the British Government in the Years 1817-1818’. London: John Murray, 1820, between pp. 300-301. The plates in Oxley’s 'Journals …' are believed to be after drawings made by G.W. Evans, and prepared for publication by Major Taylor.
[Bottom]
West Prospect from View Hill, Interior N. Holland, August 27th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans].
Paste-down endpaper includes binder’s label at top left inscribed `John Mylrea / Bookseller Stationer & / Bookbinder / Duke Street Douglas’.
Free endpaper:
[Top]
East View of Arbuthnots Range, Interior N. Holland, July 16th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans].
Relates to Arbuthnot's Range, the Acacia Pendula in the foreground, New South Wales, 1824 (SV1B / Arb Ra / 1).
[Bottom]
South West Prospect from View Hill, interior New South Wales, August 28th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans].
Relates to plate `Liverpool Plains. West Prospect from View Hill, Drawn by Major Taylor from a Sketch by Mr. Evans’, in Oxley’s ‘Journals…’ (1820), between pp. 274-275.
FRONT FLYLEAVES (10 pages)
Three pen and ink drawings, possibly created using a Camera Lucida ; one engraving; and twenty mainly natural history watercolour and collage drawings. Laid down on flyleaves.
[1a.] Cascade interior N. Holland, July 17th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans]
Pen and ink drawing
[1b.] Port Macquarie N. Holland, October 11th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans]
Pen and ink drawing
[2a.] View of Newcastle. New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Preston from a Drawing by Captn. Wallis, 46th Regt.
Engraving
Not included in either the Sydney or London editions of Wallis’ volume of engravings.
[2b.] Wallis Lake near Cape Hawke, N. Holland, October 27th 1818 / [probably by James Wallis after G.W. Evans]
Pen and ink drawing
[3a.] Patersonia Species / by Joseph Lycett
Watercolour
[3b.] Stiledia Gracilus N. South Wales / by Joseph Lycett
Watercolour and collage
Includes inscription in the hand of Wallis ‘Philedia Glasisi, N. South Wales’ and `Simply to be with those whom we love is sufficient. For whether our minds are wandering from them or whether we are talking with them or not talking with them, thinking of them or of indifferent objects, so long as we are with them we are satisfied...[illegible]’.
[3c.] Baurea Species / by Joseph Lycett
Watercolour
[3d.] [Untitled botanical drawing] / by Joseph Lycett
Watercolour
Inscribed in pencil below items 3a-3d. `The flowers by Lycatt [sic] a Convict’.
[4a.] Native Coherry, [obscured] Hunters River N.S. Wales
Watercolour and collage
[4b.] Native Rose, New South Wales, Borronea Serrulata / Lycett
Watercolour and collage
[4c.] [Untitled drawing of a hawk]
Watercolour and collage
[5.] Eight mostly untitled watercolour drawings, some with collage, including two titled : 'Hypericum species’ and `Polygala Species’.
[6.] [Untitled drawing possibly of a Magpie Goose]
Watercolour
[7.] 2 Natives of New South Wales. Dick killed Burigon one day with one [underlined] blow.
Titled below drawings and inscription in ink in Wallis' hand.
Portrait drawings of the Awabakal brothers. At top is pencil portrait titled 'Burigon or Jack' showing right profile. At bottom is watercolour portrait titled 'Dick', showing head and upper torso.
Portraits flanked by two botanical drawings titled `Tetrabatica’ and `Zeianthimum’. Watercolour and collage
Inscribed below drawings in ink in Wallis’ hand 'Nature in a sportive Humour or a contrast between Animal and vegetable Life in New South Wales the former hideous disgusting and barbarous, the latter graceful modest and gratifying to the senses, the Aborigines of N. South Wales are the most perfect Savages in existence. The wild flowers exceed in beauty and variety those of any other parts of the world, from the gigantic Lilly, towering twelve feet from its root, to the modest violet’.
Relates to the manuscript folio describing Dick and Burigon at PXD 1008 / vol 1.
[8.] [Giant Swamp Lily]
Watercolour
[9.] The Fish of New South Wales / [drawn by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour and collage
Shows ten freshly caught fish.
Some species identified by inscription in black ink below fish, including 'Taylor'; 'Soldier'; 'Rock Cod'; 'Bull Rout'; 'Old Wife'; 'John Dory'; 'Fortescue'; and some others.
Relates to fish panels on the two Newcastle Collector’s Chests at DG R4 and XR 69.
[10.] Blandfordia Nobilis / [drawn by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
PUBLISHED TEXTBLOCK
'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales...' London: Printed For R. Ackermann, Repository Of Arts, Strand, by J. Moyes, Greville Street, 1821.
[i-vi] pp. 2-42 [p. 43], followed by twelve published engravings.
Title page inscribed in ink `Mary Ann Wallis / The Gift of her dear Husband / Major James Wallis / late of H.M. 46th Regt. / Prestbury / May 1857’ (at top right); and, in a different hand, ‘This Book presented to her / Nephew Lt Colonel A. Taylor / by his Aunt Mary Ann Wallis / 10th Febry 1866’ (at top left).
Alexander Taylor was the son of Wallis’ sister, Ann (b. ca. 1796) and her husband Alexander Taylor.
Dedication page, `To The Public’, includes two pen and ink drawings, laid down, titled :
[Top]
`View of Part of Newcastle, N. S. Wales’ - relates to the first group of paintings in the two Newcastle Collector's Chests depicting Newcastle with Christ Church, and a pair of pelicans (DG R4 and XR 69)
[Bottom]
`View on Throsby’s Creek, near Newcastle, N. S. Wales.’ (bottom) - relates to the first group of paintings in the Newcastle Collector's Chests depicting Newcastle with Christ Church, and a pair of egrets (DG R4 and XR 69).
Twelve published engravings:
II. A View of the Cove and Part of Sydney. New South Wales. Taken from Dawe's Battery / Engrav'd by W. Prefton [sic] from an Original Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt. (on double page).
I. A View of Hawkesbury. and the Blue Mountains. New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Prefton [sic] from an Original Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt. (on double page).
III. Sydney. from the North Shore New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Preston from a Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt. (on double page).
IV. Sydney. from Bennelongs Point New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Preston from a Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt. (on double page).
V. Newcastle. Hunter's River. New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Prefton [sic] from a Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt. (on double page).
Annotated in ink, in the same hand as the inscription top left title page, with `X’ in the margin adjacent to the church with the legend ‘X This Church was built by Major James Wallis 46th Regt.’; and 'X’ below the grass tree with the legend ‘X The Grass tree’.
VI. Corrobborree Or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales. New Holland / W. Preston Sculp. (on double page).
VII. Black Swans. of New South Wales. View on Reed's Mistake River, N.S.W. / Preston Sculp..
VIII. Kangaroos. of New South Wales. View from Seven Mile Hill near Newcastle, N.S.W. / Prefton [sic]. Sc..
IX. View of Hunter’s River. Newcastle. New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Preston from a Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt..
X. North and South Head's in Port Jackson. New South Wales / W. Preston Sculp. from an Original Drawing by Captn. Wallis. 46th Regt..
XI. Vaucluse Bay. Port Jackson. New South Wales / W. Preston Sculp. from an Original Drawing by Captn. Wallis. 46th Regt..
XII. A View of Dawes Battery and the Entrance of Sydney Cove. New South Wales / Engrav'd by W. Preston from an Original Drawing by Capt. Wallis. 46th Regt..
BACK FLYLEAVES (10 pages)
Six original, unsigned drawings by Joseph Lycett, and four original, unsigned drawings by James Wallis. Laid down on flyleaves.
With minor variations, five of the six drawings by Lycett are for plates published in Wallis’ 'Australian views…' (1820) and 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales ...' (1821).
[1.] [A View of the Cove and Part of Sydney, New South Wales, taken from Dawe's Point, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Inscribed lower centre in ink `Drawn by a Convict.’
Untitled original drawing for Plate 1 of Wallis’ 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales … (1821)
[2.] [Vaucluse Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Inscribed lower centre in ink `Drawn by a Convict.’
Untitled original drawing for Plate 11 of Wallis’ 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales …' (1821)
[3.] [View of Sydney, looking towards old Barrack Square, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Inscribed lower centre in ink `Drawn by a Convict.’
This view was not published in Wallis’ 'Australian Views…' (1820), or 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales…' (1821).
[4.] [View of Awabakal Aboriginal people, ca. 1818 / by James Wallis]
Watercolour and collage
Shows four cut out drawings of five seated Aboriginal people, including a man and a woman; a man wearing a British military jacket; a woman; and another man, against a coastal background.
[5.] [North and South Head's in Port Jackson, New South Wales, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Untitled original drawing for Plate 10 of Wallis’ 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales…' (1821).
[6.] [View of Awabakal Aboriginal people, ca. 1818 / by James Wallis]
Watercolour and collage
Shows six cut out drawings of seven seated or standing Aboriginal people.
[7.] [Sydney from Darlinghurst, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Inscribed lower centre in ink `Drawn by a Convict.’
This view was not published in Wallis’ 'Australian Views…' (1820), or 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales…' (1821).
[8.] [View of Awabakal Aboriginal people, with beach and river inlet, and distant Aboriginal group in background, ca. 1818 / by James Wallis]
Watercolour and collage
Shows two cut out drawings of five seated Aboriginal people (foreground).
[9.] [View of Dawe's Battery at the Entrance of Sydney Cove, New South Wales, ca. 1818 / by Joseph Lycett]
Watercolour
Inscribed lower centre in ink `Drawn by a Convict.’
Untitled original drawing for Plate 12 of Wallis’ 'An Historical account of the colony of New South Wales…' (1821)
[10.] [View of a river landscape with five cut out pasted down drawings of five standing Aborigines, ca. 1818 / by James Wallis]
Watercolour and collage
Each is named below portrait from left to right 'Burigon or Jack'; 'Nerang Doll'; 'Trimmer in Warriors full Dress'; 'Walker'; and 'Nerang Wogec Playing on Shield'.
Inscribed below drawing in ink: `These figures of the Natives are all drawn by Major Wallis 46th Regt.' and 'These Natives all sat for their Pictures’.
BACK COVER
One hand-coloured engraving, laid down, of Vaucluse Bay.
From Wallis’ ‘Australian Views...' (1820) and 'An Historical Account of the colony of New South Wales...’ (1821) - Access Conditions
Access via appointment - Copying ConditionsOut of copyright: Creator died before 1955.
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales - Related Material
- Variant title
The Wallis album, ca 1817-1818 - General note
...and its Dependent Settlements; in Illustration of Twelve Views Engraved by W. Preston, A Convict; From Drawings taken on the Spot, by Captain Wallis, of the Forty-Sixth Regiment, To Which is Subjoined An Accurate Map of Port Macquarie, and the Newly Discovered River Hastings’, by J. Oxley, Esq., Surveyor General To The Territory, London: Printed For R. Ackermann, Repository Of Arts, Strand, by J. Moyes, Greville Street, 1821.
Bookbinder, John Mylrea, (b. ca. 1819) advertised his Duke Street business on 4 February 1843 in the 'Manx Liberal'. Wallis, who retired from the army in 1826 ranked Major, and his wife, lived for a time following his retirement at Douglas, Isle of Man. At his death in 1858, the year after he presented this volume to his second wife, Mary Ann, nee Breach, the Wallis' were no longer living on the Isle of Man but at Prestbury near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
Digital order no:Album ID : 957996 - Signatures / Inscriptions
`Mary Ann Wallis, the gift of her dear husband Major James Wallis, late of H.M. 46th Regt., Prestbury, May 1857’ - title page, top right
`This book presented to her nephew Lt. Colonel A. Taylor by his Aunt Mary Ann Wallis 10th Feb. 1866’ - title page, top left - Version / edition note
'Australian views, by Captain Wallis, singularly curious, having been engraved on the common sheet copper, employed in coppering the bottoms of ships, by Preston...'[London : R. Ackerman, 1820];
'An historical account of the colony of New South Wales and its dependent settlements : in illustration of twelve views, engraved by W. Preston from drawings taken on the spot by Captain Wallis. To which is subjoined An accurate map of Port Macquarie and the newly discovered River Hastings, by J. Oxley'. London : Printed for R. Ackermann by J. Moyes, 1821. - Creator/Author/Artist
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Planting Dreams: Shaping Australian Gardens - State Library of New South Wales (3 September, 2016 - 15 January, 2017) - Open Rosetta viewer
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