Sydney, Descriptive and Illustrative, together with Choice and Characteristic Country Scenes in New South Wales
This is an early 20th-century pictorial souvenir/view book of Sydney and New South Wales, published by A. C. Rowlandson / New South Wales Bookstall Co., Sydney.
It is primarily a photographic record rather than a conventional written history, presenting Sydney’s civic buildings, streets, beaches, harbour scenes and nearby country attractions at a time when the city was rapidly modernising.
The images shown include Queen Victoria Markets, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Coogee Bay, and The Three Sisters, Katoomba, indicating that the book was designed for visitors, tourists, emigrants, collectors and readers interested in Sydney’s public architecture, transport, leisure culture and scenic excursions. The captions are short but historically useful, often noting cost, location, transport access or significance of the view.
The book appears to belong to the broader genre of Australian Federation-era souvenir albums: oblong format, photographic plates, decorative cover typography, and views intended to promote Sydney as a prosperous, modern and picturesque city.
Comparable catalogue and bookseller records identify related editions under the title “100 Views: Sydney, Descriptive and Illustrative…”, with black-and-white photographs of Sydney landmarks, the harbour and country scenes, including Blue Mountains views and Kerry & Co. photography.
This is a desirable piece of early Sydney / New South Wales pictorial ephemera. Its appeal lies in the photographic documentation of city landmarks, tramways, public buildings, beaches and regional scenery before later 20th-century redevelopment. The Coogee and Blue Mountains images are especially attractive for collectors of NSW tourism, railway/tram history, early Australian photography and local history.
