Story of the conceptualisation and publication of the 'Picturesque Atlas of Australia'. Writers, artists and academics worked together to prepare a book of unprecedented grandeur and ambition and a publishing company was created to produce and publish it. Explores the late 19th-century culture, providing a snapshot of 1880s Australia trying to find itself in the midst of rapid modernisation. Includes reproductions of 70 of the original engravings from the Atlas. Includes photos, notes, bibliography and index. Author has taught literary and cultural studies at the University of Western Australia and is a post doctoral fellow at the University of Sydney.