William Smedley, “Saturday Night in George Street”, 1886

William Smedley (aka William Thomas Smedley) (1858–1920)

“Saturday Night in George Street” (Sydney, Australia), 1886 (as inscribed in plate), an original wood engraving published in Sydney, Melbourne and London in 1886 by the Picturesque Atlas Publishing Company, edited by Andrew Garran, as an illustration on page 89 to the first volume (of three), “The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia.”

Wood-engraving with letterpress title and letterpress text verso on heavy wove paper with a small margin around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 20.5 x 26.7 cm (plate); 17.9 x 24.8 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (lower left corner) “W. T. SMEDLEY/ JULY 4.86”

Condition: a well-printed (faultless) impression in a pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or signs of handling. The sheet has been trimmed with a small margin and laid upon a sheet of millennium quality washi paper providing wide margins.

Interestingly, Andrew Garran (1886), the editor of the “Atlas,” offers the following insights about the crowd represented in this wood-engraving: “This is not the promenade for the wealthier classes; there is nothing in Sydney approaching to the character of a fashionable Parisian boulevard …It is a stream of people a mile long, and very seldom indeed is it stirred boisterously and rudely by any exhibition of passion or blackguardism” (p. 89).

I am selling this historically important wood-engraving from 1886 revealing the dress styles and manners of a Saturday evening crowd milling around George Street in the centre of Sydney, for AU$180 (equivalent to approximately US$115.10, EUR 109.63, or GBP 90.92 at the time of listing) and includes Express Mail Service (EMS) postage and handling to any worldwide destination. Please note that any import duties or taxes levied by the destination country are the responsibility of the buyer and are not included in the purchase price. Payment is requested in Australian dollars (AU$180).

If you are interested in purchasing this fascinating and finely executed wood-engraving, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.