A Journey from Sydney to the Australian Alps, by Dr John Lhotsky, edited by A.E.J. Andrews. Blubber Head Press, Hobart. Typeset by Harley & Jones; printed by Edwards & Shaw.

Another first book from a new publisher. It is also a limited edition (500 copies, $40) printed by letterpress, with a small section of offset halftones, fold-out maps, and bright-red endpapers. Lhotsky’s original text is set line for line with that of the original text of 1835. The book is printed on Curtis Cariba, an American paper that I believe is now stocked in this country, and which has a feeling of high quality, even if it is too brilliantly white for some tastes (e.g. mine). This production is not especially exciting or ‘fine’, but it has been carefully thought out and expresses an air of scholarship. The presswork shows the care that has made Edwards & Shaw famous. There is no acknowledgment of the binders of the ordinary edition, but perhaps that part of the job was handled by Stanley Owen & Son, the unsung heroes of countless Australian productions. I would like to see someone from the field of book production nominated as Bookman of the Year one of these days. I think it is time. The names of Edwards & Shaw and Stanley Owen are among those that would get my vote. 2 picas.

In the Wild (Part Two) with Harry Butler. Australian Broadcasting Commission. Designed by Tony Denny. Typeset by Dalley Photocomposition; printed and bound by Griffin Press.

The irrepressible style of Butler’s TV wildlife programs translates well into print, at least for those who can hear his voice again in the text and pictures. This crowded ABC production (nearly 300 colour photos in 128 pages) is entertaining, informative, and nostalgic. The layout is not helped by what I think is a surfeit of images, bleeding out in all directions, but it hardly matters. The photographs by Kathie Atkinson and Warren Penny are excellent. Griffin Press have produced a few Singaporean, reflex-blue skies, but the colour is generally pleasing and the printing is clean and crisp. On the laminated paper case is a photo of Butler with a wombat, his face in shadow. It is not to be compared with the cover of the earlier book in this series, where he was up to his neck in water, holding a snake. But the cover can only derive from what was photographed during the TV  series, and this was a fair choice. 2 picas.

Old Tasmania in Sepia, photographs by David Westlake, text by Shirley Westlake. Rigby. Typeset by Modgraphic, reproductions by Lasercolour, printed by Stock Journal Publications, bound by Advance Bookbinders, all of Adelaide.

This book rediscovers the vignetted photograph in a way that is highly pleasing and highly suited to the historic subject-matter. It is reminiscent of the engravings seen in nineteenth-century sketchbooks and illustrated papers, where the picture has no straight edges but fades out into nothing. These attractively composed photographs are beautifully printed in two browns, which gives a sepia effect of great richness on the matte art paper. (Not so successful on the laminated dust-jacket.)

As a whole, the book is a nice change from Rigby’s rather repetitious Sketchbook series. What seems to me to be a lack of proportion in the preliminaries – massive title, microscopic imprint details, over-large page numbers in the Contents – is characteristic of these publishers, but the book is well conceived and well made. 2½ picas.