Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell And His World 1792-1855

Biography & Memoir History Australiana

Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell and His World 1792-1855 by William Foster is the hefty, illustrated biography every Australian history buff hopes to spot on the shelf. Foster traces the restless career of the controversial Surveyor-General of New South Wales—soldier, explorer, artist and author whose maps and journals shaped colonial perceptions of the inland.

This 1985 first-edition hardback arrives with its original dust jacket and almost 600 pages of photographs, sketches and facsimile documents that bring Mitchell’s expeditions to life. The binding is tight, pages are unmarked by pen or fold, and the volume comes from a smoke-free home.

Light spotting on the top edge and a small water stain to the rear of the jacket are the only reminders of its age, keeping the price friendly for collectors of vintage Australiana. A solid reading copy that looks dignified on the shelf and stands up to repeated reference.

Searchers after local history, biography or early geographic survey will find Foster’s meticulous account a satisfying deep dive into nineteenth-century Australia.