Near Newcastle on the Hunter, New South Wales. Skinner Prout c1874.

by Prout, John Skinner

Skinner Prout antique print of the coastline near Newcastle, at the mouth of the Hunter River, north of Sydney.

Beautiful steel engraving, black and white as published circa1874. Engraved by Samuel Bradshaw (1810-1888), 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. This series of views are quite collectable - particularly as records of places that has been considerably changed by development.

Skinner Prout was born in Plymouth, England, and in 1840, arrived in Sydney with his wife and seven children. He brought a complete lithographic printing press with him, and in early 1841 he started producing lithographed versions of his drawings of Sydney. In January 1844 Prout moved to Hobart and commenced drawing Hobart and its environs for a series of lithographs. Skinner Prout went on many sketching trips throughout NSW, TAS and VIC, often accompanying sketching clubs that he helped to organize. Prout and his family returned to England in April 1848.

This view is a wonderful record of the region in the late 19th century. This engraving in good condition except for a couple of tiny foxing spots in the top right corner. It is uncoloured as published, with wide margins. Page size is 210 x 270mm (8 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches). Engraving: 127 x 183mm (5 x 7 1/8 inches)