Rare & Curious: The Secret History of Governor Macquarie's Collectors' Chest

Commissioned by colonial Australia's Governor Macquarie in the early 1800s, these cabinets of curiosities—beautifully portrayed in this collection of text and images—display exotic natural history through layers of preserved butterflies, insects, birds, seaweed specimens, and shells. Tracing the journey of the Dixson chest and the Macquarie chest, united for the first time in nearly 200 years, the story reveals much about the fledgling Australian colony, Governor Macquarie and his vision, the convict artists and craftsmen who worked on the chests, the natural landscape, and the history of colonial Australia. Beautifully painted panels created by some of Australia's best early colonial painters are also included.