Brisbane Post Office with horse-drawn double-decker bus c1886

by Unknown

Antique print of the Brisbane General Post Office in Queen Street c1886, with horse-drawn doubl-storied bus and people in long heavy Victorian fashion. The Italianate-style building was designed by F.D.G. Stanley and construction by John Petrie was completed in 1872. From 1872 to 1879 the Queensland Museum occupied the premises before moving to the William Street premises of the Old State Library. During the days of Moreton Bay penal settlement from 1824 to 1842 the site had housed the Female Factory or women's prison. 

Hand-coloured original wood engraving published c1886 for Picturesque Atlas of Australasia published in Sydney circa 1886. Picturesque Atlas of Australasia which was published between 1886 and 1888 to commemorate 100 years since the First Fleet settlement in Australia. Leading artists were commissioned to illustrate the discovery, settlement and development of Australia and New Zealand, in particular. From these artists’ drawings, over 700 engravings were carved (in reverse from a mirror) so that they could provide a correct perspective of each place. Most of the engravings were carved from wood, but some (in particular the finer portraits) combined early mezzotint engraving on steel plates. Some wood-engraved views even featured a lithographic border composed of Australian flora. The illustrations were some of the finest engravings produced anywhere in the world in the late 19th century.

This small engraving was published within a page of text.