The Victorian Gold Fields 1852-3

Art, Design & Photography History Australiana

Michael Cannon’s The Victorian Gold Fields 1852-3 is a lavishly illustrated hardback that drops readers straight onto the chaotic diggings that reshaped Australia. First published in 1982, this scarce first edition blends eyewitness accounts, rare period pictures and Cannon’s crisp narrative to show how gold fever rewrote politics, trade and daily life within months.

The 100-page volume arrives in good order, still bright in its original dust jacket with only fine scuffing and a couple of negligible page flecks. A single light crease on one leaf is the only internal blemish; otherwise the colour plates and maps remain crisp, making the book as attractive to art lovers as it is to historians.

Collectors of Australiana, mining memorabilia or Victorian-era social history prize this title for both its visual richness and its accessible authority. Displayed on a shelf or consulted for research, the book is a conversation-starter that distils a transformative decade into one concise, beautiful package.