Beschreibung:

Australasia.- Australia.- Collins (Lt.-Col. David) An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, from its First Settlement in January 1788, to August 1801, second edition, engraved portrait, 2 folding maps, 23 plates and 8 illustrations in text, 3 of the plates and 2 illustrations hand-coloured (all natural history), with advertisement leaf and 8pp. publishers' catalogue at end, pencil signature at head of title, some plates slightly cropped at foot with loss to imprint, one almost detached, stain to lower margin of D1, otherwise a very clean copy in the original boards, uncut, bookseller's ticket of Bristow & Cowtan of Canterbury inside front board, rubbed and marked, spine a little worn, corners bumped, [Ferguson 390; Wantrup 21], 4to, 1804. ⁂ The last of the First Fleet journals, originally published in 2 volumes in 1798 & 1802 and abridged into one volume by the author's wife Maria. Despite omitting some information regarding the development of the colony it includes all the plates from the first edition and an additional portrait of the author. These fine plates are probably after sketches by the convict artist Thomas Watling and depict early views of Sydney and Parramatta, and scenes of aboriginal customs. In this issue the 3 natural history plates and 2 illustrations are hand-coloured and feature a lyre bird, a wombat and a duck-billed platypus.