This bound volume (176 pages) is part of the papers, booklets, manuscripts, posters and medals from the early Queensland colonial chemist - Karl Theodore Staiger.
I had just used a graphic of this in a clock club newsletter when Noreen Grahame called to see my early 1970s rubber-stamp works. As Noreen is fluent in German, once shown it she excitedly raced through from cover to cover telling me the general themes and its contents . . . so back in Brisbane in the 1880s this was published locally in German for all the new settlers in the colony. The printer also made up letterheads etc, general job printing plus translations for the general population - seems that Brisbane was far more multi-cultural back in the 1880s than the 1980s?
I've just shown a few pages, some of the same business still flourish here today.
The advertising between the covers comes from businesses of all types, sizes and locations in New South Wales and from all over (far-flung) Queensland. Just cast your mind back to the task, this enterprising printer not only supplied costing tables for postage and electric telegraphs and the likes. The community information covered is awesome - Government offices,contacts and addresses, State services - both houses of Parliament's process - Ministers with their contacts, the Public Service is also laid bare, cemeteries, churches and police station locations, time & tide tables. Salesmen would have had to travel (roughly) over long distances to gather the briefs, materials to illustrate & engrave and then send off proofs for sign-off. Things we do today in lightning speed would have taken months to set up in metal, print, collate and then distribute (and sell).
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