"The Cast-Iron Canvasser" | |
---|---|
Short story by Banjo Paterson | |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Humour |
Publication | |
Published in | The Bulletin |
Publication type | Periodical |
Media type | |
Publication date | 19 December 1891 |
"The Cast-Iron Canvasser" is a humorous short story by Banjo Paterson. It was first published in the 19 December 1891 issue of The Bulletin , and later included in the author's short story collection, Three Elephant Power and Other Stories, and in many short story anthologies. [1]
It tells of a mechanical book-seller, built to overcome the treatment given to travelling salesmen by residents of the outback, which attempts to sell an atlas to a giant Scot named MacPherson.
The story was also translated into German in 1984. [1]
A reviewer in The Sydney Morning Herald said it is a "broadly farcial" story "in which the fun waxes fast and furious, and even where the comedy is less uproarious the author indulges his vein of quiet humour very effectively." [2]
In The Canberra Times Maurice Dunlevy called the story "not only one of the best examples in our literature of that familiar form of the tall tale, the remarkable invention story, but is also one of Paterson's best remembered." [3]
The depiction of the mechanical book-seller has led some critics to label this as story as an early example of steampunk. [1]
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem.
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Up The Country is a popular poem by iconic Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 9 July 1892, under the title Borderland, and started the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
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The City Bushman is a poem by iconic Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 6 August 1892, under the title In Answer to "Banjo", and Otherwise. It was the fourth work in the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, and others, about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
Clement Semmler OBE, AM, often referred to as Clem Semmler, was an Australian author, literary critic, broadcaster and radio and television executive.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1905.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1892.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1891.
"Bell-Birds" is a poem by Australian writer Henry Kendall that was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 25 November 1867.
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Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses (1917) is the third collection of poems by Australian poet Banjo Paterson. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1917, and features the poems "Waltzing Matilda", "Saltbush Bill, J.P.", "An Answer to Various Bards" and "T.Y.S.O.N.".
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1953.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1957.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1967.
Three Elephant Power and Other Stories (1917) is a collection of short stories by the Australian writer Banjo Paterson.
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