1866 Isometric View of Melbourne

NOTE: Because of the high detail in this work, we recommend that you purchase print sizes of A2, A1 or A0. Smaller print sizes may disappoint you in revealing the incredible detail of this image.

A truly magnificent work, depicting Melbourne and its suburbs in 1866, using an isometric perspective. The original artist worked on this for over three years, and we have spent many days working on this image, restoring it back to a very close representation of the original image. We removed a lot of damage caused by handling and also removed some terrible vandalism that the pictured had been subjected to. 

The viewer is looking in a southern direction, looking across the city of Melbourne out to Port Phillip Bay. In the centre foreground you can make out St. Patrick's Cathedral, St Peter's Church and on the right hand side, the Melbourne Cemetery (where Queen Victoria Market is now located). On the left foreground we can see the Fitzroy Gardens and East Melbourne, and looking further south we can see the Melbourne Cricket Ground and a train heading towards Richmond. On the far left we can see a bridge spanning the Yarra.

There are hundreds of fascinating points of interest in the image, and any owner of this print can spend many days looking at all of the buildings, geography, architecture and infrastructure of the day.

Produced by De Gruchy & Leigh in 1866. The original lithograph was mentioned in De Gruchy & Leigh's "Strangers' Guide to Melbourne" from 1866 where it is stated "This splendid lithograph has been upwards of three years in the artist's hands, and has been generally admitted to be the only view of the capital of the southern Hemisphere that fully represents its commercial importance, or is capable of giving our friends at home an adequate idea of Melbourne and that portion of its suburbs which lie south of the River Yarra. From the elaborate nature of the work (every house being distinctly visible) only a limited number of copies can be struck off."

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Notes from the State Library tell us that this image "Shows the layout of Melbourne's streets with buildings, the Yarra in the distance, and parts of Collingwood and East Melbourne."

This is a digitally retouched reproduction of the original held by the State Library of Victoria. All prints are reproduced without the HOTPRESS watermarks.

Our team of conservators have worked on a high resolution digital image in order to remove blemishes and artifacts such as stains, mould, scratches and damage caused by the handling of the original. We strive to provide authentic representations of the original work that are suitable for enlargements that retain the tones and character of the original.