Port Phillip Settlement (First Edition)

James Bonwick’s documentary history of the first settlement of Port Phillip, illustrated with sketches by John Helder Wedge and facsimile letters and signatures.

James Bonwick gathered in this large volume the early records of the settlement on Port Phillip Bay, drawing on journals, official correspondence and the recollections of those who took part. Its subjects include the early exploration of the bay, John Batman and John Fawkner, the Port Phillip Association, the first Melbourne press, Gippsland, and the position of the Aboriginal people. A coloured frontispiece and plates after sketches by John Helder Wedge, together with folding facsimile letters and a leaf of autographs, give the book its documentary character. It was among the first extended histories of the district, and its reproductions of letters and signatures make it a source for the history of Melbourne’s founding. The book’s account of the Aboriginal people reflects the views and language of its time.

First edition. Thick octavo. x, 537pp., [ii: pages of facsimile signatures], [i: advertisements]. Coloured frontispiece, numerous engraved plates and facsimile folding letters tipped in. Original blue cloth, the spine lettered in gilt, with a gilt-illustrated vignette to the cover and blind margins. Some rubbing to the binding, stronger to the spine. Contents near fine, with some sporadic markings, but generally clean and bright throughout. A near fine copy.

Not currently on display in store. For viewing or more information, please contact rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue Number: HH000808