Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Zoology and botany of New Holland and the isles adjacent

Zoology and botany of New Holland and the isles adjacent

1794
Bound volume
London: Printed by J. Davis: published by J. Sowerby, [1794]
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
Q79/59

This volume contains a rare copy of A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland and the equally rare Zoology of New Holland – each the first book published on its subject: Australian plants and animals respectively. Both publications feature hand-coloured engravings by the acclaimed naturalist and illustrator James Sowerby. Over his career, Sowerby produced many thousands scientific illustrations but is particularly renowned for his use of colour. He also developed a theory of colour, which reworked Isaac Newton’s idea of seven primary colours to propose three basic colours – red, yellow and blue – from which all other colours could be rendered.

The two original books were bound together in this special volume by Sir William Dixson. Featuring dark blue stained calfskin, marbled sides and matching endpapers, the volume reflects the great care Dixson took in selecting and treating the special items in his collection.

In another of his books, George Shaw, like many Europeans, could not conceal his disbelief when describing the extraordinary platypus: ‘Of all the Mammalia yet known it seems the most extraordinary in its confirmation; exhibiting the perfect resemblance of the beak of a Duck engrafted on the head of a quadraped’.*


Footnotes

* George Shaw, The Naturalist’s Miscellany, June 1799

James Edward Smith was one of the most important botanists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the principal founding member and first president of the Linnean Society of London.

‘On my first landing everything was new to me, every Bird, every Insect, Flower, &c. in short all was novelty around me, and was noticed with a degree of eager curiosity, and perturbation, that after a while, subsided into calmness.’*


Footnotes

* Elizabeth Macarthur on her arrival in the colony with the Second Fleet in 1790; Elizabeth Macarthur to Bridget Kingdon, 7 March 1791, State Library collection, Safe 1/ 398

The name 'Waratah', the Aboriginal name for the species, was adopted by early settlers at Port Jackson. It was proclaimed the official floral emblem of NSW on 24 October 1962. 

Eucalyptus robusta, commonly known as swamp mahogany or swamp messmate, was first collected by the First Fleet surgeon and naturalist John White. The species description was published by James Edward Smith in his 1793 collaboration with George Shaw.