This book reveals a fascinating and little-known form of colonial still-life painting -- trompe I'oeil, or illusionistic watercolors that represent the trivia of everyday life through apparently casual arrangements of objects arrayed on tables or desktops and reproduced as realistically as possible. The variety of objects ranged from newspapers, playing cards, pens, and rulers to coins, banknotes, and even a lit cigar. Although the paintings were toured and exhibited in colonial times, they are little known today. Ten surviving examples from art galleries in New Zealand and Australia are reproduced in this book.