Mortmain – Facsimile Collection of Convict Petitions and Letters from Van Diemen's Land | Eustace FitzSymonds | 1977 | Limited Edition [USED – HCDJ]

A collection of petitions, memorials and letters from the convict colony of Van Diemen's Land, gathered and transcribed by Eustace FitzSymonds from original documents held in colonial archives, with numerous pages reproduced in facsimile directly from the manuscripts. The documents are the voices of the convict system itself — petitions for mercy, memorials requesting tickets of leave, letters of complaint and protest, correspondence between convicts and colonial administrators.

Written by people at every level of the colonial hierarchy, from governors and officials to convicts writing in their own hand. The facsimile reproductions allow readers to see the original documents as they were written — the handwriting, the crossings out, the marks of the people who produced them.

Published by Sullivan's Cove in Hobart in 1977 as a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. Out of print and not commonly found.

At 262 pages in a large folio format, it is a primary source collection as much as a book — useful for family historians researching specific convict ancestors, and for anyone interested in the texture of daily life in the Van Diemen's Land convict colony.

CONDITION

Used, generally good condition. 

BOOK DETAILS

Large hardcover with dust jacket.

262 pages.

Approximately 22cm wide x 35cm tall. 

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