Fairlight Glen on the Warragamba, after Skinner Prout, Australia c1874

by Booth, Edwin Carton

Antique print of Fairlight Glen on the Warragamba River, by Skinner Prout. A wonderful depiction of a settler's hut on the river bank, Australian grass trees in the foreground, and a man appears to be wading with a gun (shooting fish?). It is a lovely scenic area a couple of hours' drive from Sydney. The hut is no longer there.. neither is the man.

Fine steel engraving, black and white, as published circa 1874. Engraved by Thomas Heawood after a drawing by prominent English landscape artist and engraver John Skinner Prout (1805-1876) for Edwin Carton Booth’s Australia Illustrated published in London circa 1874 by Virtue and Company.  Skinner Prout was one of the principal artists for this wonderful publication on Australia in the 19th century. This engraving was made from a mirror image of Skinner Prout's drawing.

Skinner Prout was born on 19 December 1805 at Plymouth in England. On 14 December 1840 he arrived in Sydney with his wife, their seven children, and a complete lithographic printing press. From early in 1841 Prout sketched and lithographed the Sydney regions. In January 1844 Prout moved to Hobart and drew Hobart and its environs for a series of lithographs.He helped organize and accompanied sketching trips in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. Prout and his family returned to England in April 1848.

This engraving in good condition except for an almost imperceptible bend at top right corner. Wide margin, as published. Page size is 210 x 270mm (8 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches). Engraving: 137 x 193mm (5 3/8 x 7 5/8 inches)