• Title: THE IDEALS OF THE EAST | WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE | TO THE ART OF JAPAN | BY KAKASU OKAKURA | LONDON | JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET | 1903 || Collation: 8vo; ffl, [2] (t.p., prep. note) [a]4 b4, A-P8 Q4. Pagination: ffl, [I, ii] – h.t. / blank, [iii, iv] – t.p. / blank, [v, vi] – preparatory note / blank, vii-xxii, [1] 2-244, [1] 2-4 (Works for art lovers). Binding: Burgundy cloth, red flowers and lettering to cover, gilt lettering to spine. Size: 19.5 x 13 cm Contributors: Author: Okakura Kakuzō [岡倉 覚三] (1863 – 1913). Publisher: Murray, Sir John IV (1851–1928); John Murray (publishing house). Printer: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., Edinburgh, London.
  • GEORGE CRUIKSHANK | A CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ | OF THE WORK EXECUTED | DURING THE YEARS 1806-1877 | WITH COLLATIONS, NOTES, APPROXIMATE VALUES, | FACSIMILES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS | BY | ALBERT M. COHN | Author of A Bibliographical Catalogue of the Printed | Works Illustrated By George Cruikshank, etc. | LONDON |FROM THE OFFICE OF "THE BOOKMAN'S JOURNAL" | 7 HENRIETTA STREET, STRAND, W.C.2 | 1924. Pagination: ffl, [i, ii] – h.t. / Limited edition (122 of 500), [2] – blank / frontis. lith. portrait of G. Cruikshank w/guard, [iii, iv] – t.p. / printed in G.B., [v, vi] – dedicat. / blank, vii-xvi; [1, 2] – f.t. / blank, 3-375, [376] – Imprint., bfl; 31 leaves of plates, some mounted. Binding: size 30 x 24 x 5.5 cm, hardcover, bevelled boards, original brown cloth with gilded lettering to spine. Top edge gilt, other untrimmed; printed on laid paper. To front pastedown: "Ex libris – Fred Robison Heryer" (round, 55 mm, resembles a coin, printed on heavy gold-coloured foil with embossed lettering and an image of a seated man lettered ALEXANDROY in Greek. To back pastedown: Seller's sticker "From the book of J.W.Robinson Co., Seventh & Grand, Los Angeles." J. W. Robinson Co. – a chain of department stores, established by Joseph Winchester Robinson (American, 1846 – 1891). Some Fred Robison Heryer (American, 1907 – 1992) died in Kansas.
  • Title (black and red): ANTIQUITATES CHRISTIANÆ: |—| OR, THE | HISTORY | OF THE | LIFE AND DEATH | OF THE | HOLY JESUS: | AS ALSO THE Lives, Acts and Martyrdoms | OF HIS | APOSTLES. |—| IN TWO PARTS. |—| The Firƒt Part, containing The Life of CHRIST, written by | Jer. Taylor, Late Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. | The Second, Containing The Lives of the APOSTLES, with an | Enumeration, and ƒome Brief Remarks upon their firƒt Successors in | the Five Great APOSTOLICAL CHURCHES, | By WILLIAM CAVE, D. D. Chaplain in | Ordinary to His MAJESTY. | By whom alƒo is added an APPARATUS, or Diƒcourƒe Introductory to the whole Work, | concerning the Three Great Diƒpenƒations of the Church, Patriarchal, Moƒaical, and Evangelical. |—| THE EIGHTH EDITION. |—| Orig. contr. Celƒ. lib. 1. in Proœm. p. 1, 2. | [text in Greek] |—| LONDON, | Printed by R. N. for Luke Meredith, at the Sign of the Star in | St. Paul's Church-Yard, MDCXCIV. Collation of this book is unusual, it is called "Folio in 6s" (three sheets are folded in half to create a gathering of 6 leaves). Two unsigned leaves: (1) Engraved frontispiece "The Annunciation" by Willian Faithorne "the Elder" (British, 1616 – 1691), recto blank; (2) engraved title by the same engraver, verso blank; (*) gathering of 4: black and red title page, verso blank; epistle; to reader; imprim. (Ato Sƒ6) Engraved portrait of Jeremy Taylor by Pierre Lombart (French, 1612 – 1682); faux title page: "The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy Life... MDCXCIII"; dedication; contents, then to the end of the first book. (A-Z4 Aa-Bb4 Cc2) The second book has collation in quarto: Faux title page: "Antiquitates Christianæ: or the Lives, Acts and Martyrdoms... MDCXCIV", etc. to the end. Full formula: π*4 a-c6 d8 A-Z6 Aa-Sƒ6 A-Z4 Aa-Bb4 Cc2 Pagination: [12]  I-LI [LII] [12] I-XXVIII, i-vi, (1st book): [2] I-145 [146-150] 151-432 [12]; (2nd book): [8]  i-xiv, 1-188. 22 plates : frontis., t.p., portrait, one folding before p. 65, two after pp. [146], [150], 282, 304, 364, 386, 414, [422], and numerous head-pieces. Size: 36 x 23.5 x 5.7 cm Binding: full calf with the later spine, raised bands; front board with remnants of gilt ruling and blind stamped border, back bord probably original with a blind-stamped centre panel with fleurons.      
  • A two-volume set. Volume 1:  GERMAN POPULAR STORIES | translated from the | Kinder und Haus Märchen, | COLLECTED BY | M. M. GRIMM, | from oral tradition. | [Vignette] | JAMES ROBINS & Co. LONDON. |AND | JOSEPH ROBINS JUNR & Co. DUBLIN. | MDCCCXXV.|| 12mo, pp. xii, 240; engraved title vignette and 11 plates by George Cruikshank, with a fine proof (?) of the plate illustrating ‘The Jew in the bush’ on India paper laid onto verso of leaf bound between half-title and title. Table of contents: Hans in luck -- The travelling musicians -- The golden bird -- The fisherman and his wife -- The tom-tit and the bear -- The twelve dancing princesses -- Rose-bud -- Tom thumb -- The grateful beasts -- Jorinda and Jorindel -- The waggish musician -- The queen bee -- The dog and the sparrow -- Frederick and Catherine -- The three children of fortune -- King grisly-beard -- The adventures of chanticleer and partlet -- Snow-drop -- The elves and the shoemaker -- The turnip -- Old sultan -- The lady and the lion -- The jew in the bush -- The king of the golden mountain -- The golden goose -- Mrs. fox -- Hansel and Grettel -- The giant with the three golden hairs -- The frog prince -- The fox and the horse -- Rumpel-stilts-kin.; Volume 2:  GERMAN POPULAR STORIES | translated from the | Kinder und Haus Märchen, | COLLECTED BY | M. M. GRIMM, | from oral tradition. | [Vignette] | JAMES ROBINS & Co. LONDON. |AND | JOSEPH ROBINS JUNR & Co. DUBLIN. | MDCCCXXVI.|| 12mo, iv, 256, [2]; engraved title vignette and 9 plates by George Cruikshank. Table of contents: The goose-girl -- Faithful John -- The blue light -- Ashputtel -- The young giant and the tailor -- The crows and the soldier -- Pee-wit -- Hans and his wife Grettel -- Cherry, or the frog-bride -- Mother Holle -- The water of life -- Peter the goatherd -- The four clever brothers -- The elfin-grove -- The salad -- The nose -- The five servants -- Cat-skin -- The robber-bridegroom -- The three sluggards -- The seven ravens -- Roland and may-bird -- The mouse, the bird, and the sausage -- The juniper tree. Binding: bound without advertisements in 19th-century brown morocco by Leighton, spines decorated and lettered in gilt, gilt edges, marbled endpapers; armorial bookplates of Thomas Gaisford and Charles Tennant to endpapers. Note: The third edition of vol. 1 (first C. Baldwyn 1823) and the first edition of vol. 2 of the first English translation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales – including Tom Thumb, the Elves and the Shoemaker, Hansel and Grettel, the Frog Prince, and Rumpelstiltskin – with George Cruikshank’s celebrated illustrations. Of Cruikshank’s work, Ruskin remarked, ‘The etchings are the finest things, next to Rembrandt’s, that, as far as I know, has been done since etching was invented. You cannot look at them too much, nor copy them too often’ (The Elements of Drawing, 1857). Provenance: (1) Thomas Gaisford (1779-1855), classical scholar, Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University, Dean of Christ Church, curator of the Bodleian Library and delegate of the Clarendon Press. (2) Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet (1823-1906), a Scottish industrialist who amassed a notable library and collection of pictures at his Peeblesshire estate, ‘The Glen’. Catalogue raisonné: Albert M. Cohn 369.
  • Comte de Tressan. L'évolution de la garde de sabre japonaise de la fin du XVe siècle au commencement du XVIIe (suite), 34 illustr. – pp. 7-35. // Bulletin de la Société Franco-Japonaise de Paris; №№ 19-20, Juin–Septembre 1910, 216 p. — Paris: Société Franco-Japonaise de Paris, Siège Social, 1910. Publisher's original green wrappers with black lettering: On top: Paraissant trimestriellement. | JUIN | SEPTEMBRE | } 1920 | XIX-XX | In the middle: BULLETIN | de la | Société Franco-Japonaise | de Paris | [—] Fondée le 16 Septembre 1900 | [device] | Bottom: Siège Social : | PALAIS DU LOUVRE — PAVILLON DE MARSAN | 107, RUE DE RIVOLI, 107 | Paris | 1910 | Prix : 4 fr 50 c || — Pp.: [4] [1-5] 6-216 [2 - errata / blank] [2 - imprim./ blank] [6]. Size: 27 x 17.5 cm.    
  • Two volumes in blue cloth, 30.3 x 25.2 cm each, in a matching slipcase 31.5 x 25.5 x 6.5 cm, with silver lettering. Vol. 1: Text, pp.: [1-8] 9-502 [2 blank]; Vol. 2: Plates, 240 unpaginated pages (721 entries). Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725 – 1770) David B. Waterhouse (British, 1936 – 2017)
  • Etruscan Bucchero Pottery Kantharos, ca. 758-264 BC. A ceramic vessel with high handles, meant for consuming wine. Flanged border between the body and the foot displays dozens of incised grooves. The rim is smooth, and the upper and of each handle flows seamlessly into the body if the vessel. Bucchero is an Etruscan type of pottery named for the specific firing technique which results in a smooth, shiny black finish. Size: 21.6 x 13.3 cm. Portions os both handles repaired with some overpainting and light adhesive residue along break lines, One handle stabilized with some new material and overpainting along fissure line. Light earthen deposits within recessed areas.
  • Ancient Greek glazed terracotta kylix (cup with a shallow bowl and a stem), ca. 350 BC. Dimensions: 14.4 x 11 cm The primary use for the kylix was drinking wine (usually mixed with water, and sometimes other flavourings) at a symposium or male "drinking party" in the ancient Greek world, so they are often decorated with scenes of a humorous, light-hearted, or sexual nature that would only become visible when the cup was drained.
  • Seller provided description:
    "Finely painted via the red-figure technique, an elegant pelike vessel of a classic globular form with a cylindrical neck rising to a flared rim, and twin fluted handles, all upon a raised, concave, disc foot.
    Side A depicts a winged Eros who stands in contrapposto facing toward the left, in the nude save sandals, bracelets, a beaded sash, and a stephane (wreath) holding a situla (pail) in his left hand and gesturing toward the seated maenad before him. Though with her breasts exposed, the maenad does wear a lower garment, and is bedecked with a stephane, multiple bracelets, and strands of pearls around her neck - all delineated in fugitive white and yellow pigment. She holds a mirror in her left upraised hand and leans upon a tambourine with her right elbow. Above and to the right is a maker's mark of a circular format with a central X that is further adorned by nested wedges and dot motifs. Side B presents two opposing standing draped male figures, the gent on the left leaning upon a walking stick. Complementing the figural program, is a lovely decorative program adorning both sides of the vessel, with bands of laurel leaves above and a repeating Greek key/meander below. An outstanding example, masterfully wheel thrown, so that we see absolutely no signs of any jogs in the transitions between the different elements of the vase. Moreover, it presents ideal proportions perfect for presenting the superb painted iconographic/decorative program. The painting was executed with the utmost skill and artistry - the red-figure technique enabling the artist to delineate the figures' musculature, facial details, as well as the cascading drapery folds with extensive fugitive paint embellishments.
    Expected surface wear with some scuffs and pigment losses commensurate with age, but the painted program is generally very well preserved. Area of repair/restoration to cloak of male on right (Side B). Minute nick to left of male on left (Side B). Nice root marks throughout and areas of encrustation. Thermoluminescence (TL) report: the piece has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. Equivalent age: 2400 +/- 300 years. Certificate of Authenticity from Artemis Gallery. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection. Greece, Southern Italy, Apulia, ca. 330 BCE.
    Size: 6.75" in diameter x 9.875" H (17.1 cm x 25.1 cm)
    Polina de Mauny, being both attentive and knowledgeable, was the first who noticed a possible mistake in the description above. It is highly probable that the woman on side A is not a maenad but Aphrodite herself, holding a mirror and leaning on a shield. Maenads were "often portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication". The situla, held by Eros, unequivocally alludes to Dionysian ritual, which has to do as much with maenads as with Aphrodite. The nature of two men on side B remain unclear.
  • Iron tsuba of four-lobbed mokkō form (possibly it was circular and then altered to produce the mokkō) with slightly raised rim decorated with three kukurizaru ('tied up monkey' toy) in openwork (sukashi) next to kogai-hitsu-ana; inlaid in red-ish copper (suaka) with the design of bamboo stems and leaves, and shapeless masses which most probably represent snow. Kozuka-hitsu-ana plugged with shakudo. Probably original kogai-hitsu-ana. Copper sekigane. Surface still covered with lacquer (urushi). Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Size: 86.1 x 85.8 x 2.6 mm NBTHK Certificate №4002543: Hozon - "Worthy of preservation" (Attribution: Mumei Heianjō Zōgan)
  • Thin iron tsuba of round form pierced with six three-leaf wood sorrels (katabami) in ko-sukashi and inlaid with brass decoration along the rim. Kozuka-hitsu-ana probably cut at a later date.

    Late Muromachi or Momoyama period, 16th century. Dimensions: 78.0 x 77.7 x 2.5 mm.
  • Iron tsuba of round form pierced (sukashi) and inlaid in flat (hira-zōgan) and cast brass (suemon-zōgan), details carved in kebori, with design of two phoenixes, bamboo, and paulownia leaves and flowers (kiri-mon) on both sides. According to seller: Bizen-Yoshirō school (or Heianjō school). Unsigned.

    Momoyama period. End of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 99.5 mm; Thickness: 2.1 mm at centre; 4.3 mm at the rim. According to Merrily Baird (Symbols of Japan), "bamboo teamed with paulownia blossoms or with paulownia and the phoenix, in reference to the Chinese legend that the phoenix perches only on the paulownia and eats only the bamboo". Citation from http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.2.1: "The immense heraldic birds on display [...] reflect the Momoyama era's spirit of newly gained self-confidence and an affinity for grand expressive statements in painting, architecture, the textile and ceramic arts, as well as garden design. While that period preceded the arrival of prosperity, it clearly marked an extraordinary moment in Japanese cultural history, one frequently compared with the twelfth century of the Heian period.  [...] Rather than an emblem of immortality, as it is in Western lore, in Japan, the phoenix evolved out of its origins in Chinese mythology to become, by the sixteenth century, an auspicious symbol of political authority. Together with clusters of the distinctively shaped paulownia leaves, this long-tailed, mythical bird  [...] proclaiming an air of graceful command".  
  • Tsuba of oval form decorated with vines, tendrils, and leaves on trellis in brass inlay with details carved in kebori, and pierced with six family crests (mon) with two, three and four pointing stars in openwork, each outlined with brass wire and carved in kebori. Original hitsu-ana outlined with brass wire was probably enlarged later. Copper sekigane.

    Momoyama to early Edo period (end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century). Dimensions: 68.3 x 64.5 x 3.4 mm.
  • Tsuba of oval form decorated with clematis six-petal flowers, tendrils, and leaves in cast brass with details carved in kebori, inlaid on iron plate carved in low relief  (kebori and sukidashi-bori). Hitsu-ana plugged with shakudō. Copper sekigane.

    Heianjō (or Ōnin) school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period (1454-1513). Dimensions: 87.2 x 84.3 x 4.3 mm. Tsuba is illustrated and described in Gary D. Murtha's "Onin-Heianjo-Yoshiro" book on pages 38-39. Mid-Muromachi is the age attribution by Gary. “A picture book of Japanese sword guards. Victoria & Albert Museum“, published in 1927 presents us with a somewhat similar tsuba: "Floral ornament. Iron, with brass incrustation". V&A attributes the tsuba to Ōnin style, 16th century.
  • Iron tsuba of mokkō form (mokkōgata) pierced (sukashi) and inlaid with precast dark brass inlay (taka-zōgan) with somewhat abstract/geometrical design that can be liberally described as pines, mist, and snow.

    Momoyama or early Edo period. End of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. Heianjō school. Unsigned. Dimensions: 86.8 x 82.9 x 4.5 mm.
  • Title: Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum: Ukiyo-e Prints [東京国立博物館図版目録 | 浮世絵版画編] (Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan zuhan mokuroku | Ukiyoe hanga hen); Publisher: Tokyo National Museum [東京国立博物館] (Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan). Three volumes, 26.3 x 18.7 cm, uniformly bound in black cloth with white characters to front cover and spine. Title-page: ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES OF | TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM | UKIYO-E PRINTS | <1 (2, 3) > | 東京国立博物館図版目録 | 浮世絵版画編 | < 上 (中, 下) > || Volume 1 [上]:  unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 70 (1-1354) – b/w plates, 1 + 48 paginated leaves (1-95 [96]) – text. Volume 2 [中]: unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 67 (1355-2493) – b/w plates + 33 paginated leaves (1-65 [66]) – text. Volume 3 [下]: unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 83 (2494-3926) – b/w plates + 35 paginated leaves (1-69 [70]) – text. Black and white photomechanical reproduction of almost four thousand woodblock prints with titles by the artist and in chronological order.
  • Circa 3300-2000 BC Dimensions: 184 x 165mm. Weight: 708grams
  • Thin six-lobed iron plate of brownish color is carved on each side with a groove that follows the rim and a concentric grooves around the center of the plate, also carved with six thin scroll lines (mokkō or handles, kan) that follow the shape of the rim. Mokume surface treatment. Hitsu-ana  possibly added at a later date, and kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with gold. Silver sekigane.

    Signed: Kunihide [國秀]. Higo school, 1st generation swordsmith.

    Mid Edo period, ca. 1800.

    Would be possibly attributed to Kamakura-bori school revival of the 19th century.

    References: Nihon Tō Kōza, Volume VI / Japanese Sword / Kodōgu Part 1, page 231: Enju Kunihide, a tōshō from Higo: "...forging of the jigane is excellent, and there are also pieces with mokume hada."

    Haynes Index Vol. 1, p. 741, H 03569.0: "Enju Kunihide in Higo province, died 1830, student of Suishinshi Masahide. Retainer of the Hosokawa Daimyō, etc."

    Additional Information from Markus Sesko:  This tsuba indeed is made by Enju Kunihide, who in his later years signed the HIDE [] character as HI [日] and DE [出], as here: Size: 77.4 x 74.9 x 2.7 mm Similar pieces are: 1. In this collection № TSU-0341: Kamakura-bori tsuba with mokkō motif. Muromachi period, 15th - 16th century. 2. Dr. Walter A. Compton Collection, 1992, Christie’s auction, Part II, pp. 14-15, №16: “A kamakurabori type tsubaMuromachi period, circa 1400. The thin, six-lobed iron plate is carved on each side with a wide groove that follows the shape of the rim, and with six scroll lines and a single thin circular groove. […] The hitsu-ana was added at a later date, circa 1500-1550.  Height 8.3 cm, width 8.6 cm, thickness 2.5 mm. The tsuba was initially intended  to be mounted on a tachi of the battle type in use from Nambokucho to early Muromachi period (1333-1400)”. Sold at $935. 3. And another one in Robert E. Haynes Catalog #9 on page 24-25 under №23: “Typical later Kamakura-bori  style work. This type of plate and carving show the uniform work produced by several schools in the Muromachi </em period. Some had brass inlay and others were just carved as this one is. The hitsu are  later. Ca. 1550. Ht. 8.8 cm, Th. 3.25 mm”. Sold for $175.      
  • Description: Hardbound 24 x 16 x 5 cm, green cloth with gilt lettering to spine, in pictorial dust jacket. A revised re-print of L'Œuvre de Gavarni par J. Armelhault et E. Bocher. — Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1873, with essays in English. Title-page: GAVARNI | CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ | OF THE GRAPHIC WORK | BY | J. ARMELHAULT & E. BOCHER | A REVISION OF THE 1873 EDITION | WITH ESSAYS IN ENGLISH | BY GORDON N. RAY | AND ROBERT J. WICKENDEN | AND SIXTY-ONE NEW PLATES | SAN FRANCISCO | ALAN WOFSY FINE ARTS | – | 2004 || Pagination: [1-4] 5-104, [i-v] vi-xiii [3] 1-627 [628]; total 374 leaves. Contributors: Paul Gavarni [Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier] (French, 1804 – 1866) Marie Joseph François Mahérault [J. Armelhault] (French, 1795 – 1879) Emmanuel Bocher (French, 1835 – 1919) Gordon Norton Ray (American, 1915 – 1986) Robert John Wickenden (British-American, 1861 – 1931)
  • Description: Hardcover volume, 35 x 25.1 cm, ochre cloth with gilt lettering and vignette to spine; pp.: [1-6] 7-389 [3 blank], total 196 leaves, 16 illustrations in colour, 1067 in b/w; in a pictorial slipcase 36 x 26 cm. Title-page: The | Japanese | Pillar | Print | Hashira-e | — | Jacob Pins | Foreword by Roger Keyes | {publisher’s device} | Robert G. Sawers Publishing | 5 SOUTH VILLAS | LONDON NW I 9 BS || Edition: Limited edition of 1000 copies, this is copy № 520. Contributors: Jacob Otto Pins (German-Israeli, 1917 – 2005) Roger Keyes (American, 1942 – 2020)
  • Book size: 25.5 x 21 cm. Hardbound: original olive cloth, lettering and elements on FC and lettering on Sp.

    Ex Libris Dr. H. Smidt, with the motto: "Sapienti sat" and a naked bold man at the seashore, holding a fruit behind his back.

    Full title: Japanische Schwertzieraten. Beschreibung einer kunstgeschichtlich geordneten Sammlung, mit Charakteristiken der Künstler und Schulen von Gustav Jacoby. Hierzu siebenunddreissig Tafeln in Heliogravüre. [The second volume, which conteined 'heliogravures' is missing and had not be found elsewhere].

  • Title: AN | ESSAY | CONCERNING | HUMANE UNDERSTANDING, |—| In Four BOOKS. |—| Written by JOHN LOCKE, Gent. |—| The Third EDITION. |—| Quam bellum est velle confiteri potius nescire quod nes- | cias, quam ista effutientem nauseare, atque ipsum sibi | displicere! Cic. De Natur. Deor. l. I. |—| LONDON: | Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil, at the Black | Swan in Pater-Noster-Row, and Samuel Manship, at the | Ship in Cornhill, near the Royal Exchange, 1695. Collation: [π2]-b6, a-c4, B-Z4 Aa-Zz4 Aaa-Fff4 Ggg-Iii2 Pagination: [40] 1-407 [13]. Catalogue raisoné: The works of John Locke; a comprehensive bibliography from the seventeenth century to the present. Compiled by John C. Attig. Series: Bibliographies and Indexes in Philosophy, Number 1. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT & London, England, 1985. p. 42, №230 provides for pagination [40] 407, [13]p. Page by page reprint of 1694 edition. Regarding the epigraph on t.p.: The correct citation from CICERODe Natura Deorum: "Quam bellum erat, Vellei, confiteri potius nescire, quod nescires, quam ista effutientem nauseare atque ipsum sibi displicere." [How delightful it would be, Velleius, if when you did not know a thing you would admit your ignorance, instead of uttering this drivel, which must make even your own gorge rise with disgust!] This life-time edition was presented as a gift to Dr Elisha Atkins (1949 – 2019), professor at Yale University School of Medicine, on July 1st, 1967, by his students, namely Carolyn Wells [Bush] (1923 – 2013), John Mooney (now a psychiatrist in Boston), and Charles Dinarello. Size: 32 x 23 cm Binding: Fill modern morocco, panelled and ruled gilt, raised bands, gilt in compartments, red label with gilt lettering; in a slipcase.
  • Hardcover, 22 x 15 cm; publisher's quarter burgundy cloth, gilt lettering to cover and spine, pictorial DJ. Stated 1st edition. Translation of Bushōkō Hiwa (The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi) and Yoshino Kuzu (Arrowroot). ISBN: 9780394524542
  • Circular form tsuba made by a mirror-maker, i.e. kagamishi. Cast yamagane plate with design of six persimmons on their peduncles surrounded by leaves. Slightly raised rounded square rim. Hitsu-ana is brutally cut later in time. Copper sekigane. Early Muromachi period (1393-1457) or earlier. The inscription on the box reads: "Kamakura or Muromachi Period. Yamagane Tsuba". Dimensions: 81.9 x 81.6 mm; thickness at seppa-dai 2.8 - 3.0 mm, rim 3.4 mm.
  • Iron tsuba of round form pierced with design of paulownia (kiri) in a circle in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi), details carved in low relief (sukidashi-bori). Hitsu-ana were cut later and then both plugged with lead or pewter. Brown patina. The most unusual characteristic of this tsuba is its 'positiveness': the absolute majority of Kamakura-bori tsuba are of ko-sukashi type, i.e. with small openings, presenting the motif in negative silhouette. Kamakura-bori school. Muromachi period (ca. 1450). Size: Height: 85.1 mm, width: 84.8 mm, thickness at seppa-dai: 3.2 mm, at rim: 2.8 mm. Weight: 79.1 g. A similar tsuba is presented at Japanese Swords and Sword Fittings from the Collection of Dr. Walter Ames Compton. Part I. Christie's, New York, March 31, 1992, page 11, №3: "A Kamakura-bori tsuba. Muromachi period, ca. 1450. The round iron plate is pierced with an openwork design of a paulownia crest (kiri-mon), the surface details of which are carved in low relief. The design is repeated on the reverse. The edge is slightly raised  and the rim has some iron bones. 78 mm x 77 mm x 3.5 mm. Hakogaki by Sato Kanzan, dated summer 1973."

    Compton's Collection, Part I, p. 11, №3.

  • Round iron plate of grey colour decorated in low relief (sukidashi-bori) on the face with sea waves (both layered waves, seigaiha, and rough waves, araumi), sago palm (cycas revoluta, sotetsu), presumably orchid leaves (ran) - five of them - hanging from the above, and  reeds (ashi), and on the back with waves (seigaiha only), rocks, chrysanthemums (kiku), clove (chori), reed, and presumably orchid leaves - three of them - hanging from the above. The kozuka-hitsu-ana was probably cut later. The plate is lacking the raised rim, typical for the kamakura-bori school. Muromachi period Dimensions: Height: 76.8 mm, width: 76.1 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.3 mm, at rim 2.0 mm. Height of nakago-ana: 29 mm. Weight: 82.4 g. NBTHK certificate № 402152: Hozon - "Worthy of preservation". A similar (most probably the same) tsuba is illustrated and described at Butterfield & Butterfield. IMPORTANT JAPANESE SWORDS, SWORD FITTINGS AND ARMOR. Auction Monday, November 19th, 1979. Sale # 3063 under lot № 66. It describes the piece as following: “Kamakura bori work of the Muromachi period. Round thin plate with some small iron bones in the edge. Carved with design of plants (sego palm) rocks, and waves on the face. The back has half of two chrysanthemums, waves, clove, and sego palm leaves. The kozuka-hitsu has been added and later enlarged. A good typical example without the rim most have. Diameter: 7.7 cm., thickness 2.5 mm. Estimated price $100-200":

    Butterfield & Butterfield, 1979. Sale # 3063, lot № 66.

  • Mokkō-form (kirikomi-mokkō-gata) iron plate of grey colour decorated on both sides with waves, reeds, cloud, pagoda, and thatched hut in low relief (sukidashi-bori). The kozuka-hitsu-ana is original, the kogai-hitsu-ana probably cut later (lacks raised rim, fuchidoru). Wide (5.7 mm) raised rim of rounded square dote-mimi type, decorated with fine cross-hatching. Momoyama period, 16th century. Dimensions: Height: 75.9 mm, width: 76.4 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 2.3 mm, at rim 4.4 mm. Kamakura-bori tsuba of such a form is unusual. The rim is also unusual; it is possible that cross-hatching was done as a preparatory step for damascening, or the the damascening (gold or silver) disappeared with passage of time.
  • Thin iron plate of round form and black color carved in sukidashi-bori with design of rocks, waves, clouds, temple gates (torii), mountain pavilion and 5-storey pagoda on both sides, alluding to Todai-ji temple in Nara. Hitsu-ana pierced later. Very narrow very slightly raised rim. Copper sekigane.

    Late Muromachi period, 16th century. Dimensions: 88.7 x 88.0 x 2.4 mm (seppa-dai), 1.8 mm (base plate).

    Reference: “Art of the Samurai” on page 232, №140: ”Kamakura tsuba with Sangatsu-do tower and bridge. Muromachi period, 16th century. 83 mm x 80 mm. Unsigned. Tokyo National Museum. The mountain pavilion and bridge carved in sunken relief on the iron tsuba – both part of Tōdai-ji, a temple in Nara – are detailed in fine kebori (line) engraving. As a result of the chiseling used to create the relief, the ground of the piece is relatively thin".

     
  • Kanmuri - a classic court cap, made of lacquered wood and paper. It is traditionally made by creating a skeleton, or harinuki, of paper on a wooden form. The outside of the hari-nuki is lacquered so as to keep its shape, and then the body of ra silk is layed on top. The entire thing is lacquered stiff.

    Size: Height:20cm; Width: 21cm; Depth: 20cm.

    Probably Taishō period (1912-1926), or later. Certain information is provided at http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/garb/garb.html In a wooden box without inscriptions.
  • Ichikawa Ebizō III (Matsumoto Kōshirō II, Ichikawa Danjūrō IV, 1711-1778) probably shown as Shinozuka Gorō in the Shibaraku scene of the play Ōyoroi Ebidō Shinozuka, performed at the Nakamura Theater in the 11th month of 1772 (Meiwa 9). This was the occasion when he celebrated his name change, from Matsumoto Kōshirō II to Ichikawa Ebizō III. The lobster or giant shrimp (ebi) upon the Ichikawa family crest (three concentric squares - three measures of rice) on his garment underscores the fact of the name change (ebi).  
  • Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro [喜多川 歌麿] (Japanese, c. 1753 – 1806) "This uncommon half-size horizontal ōban ... is most likely one design from a set of twelve prints issued late in Utamaro's life" [Japanese Erotic Fantasies, Hotei Publishing, 2005, p. 143, pl. 47].  Half-size horizontal ōban must be 12.7 x 38 cm. Richard Waldman and Chris Uhlenbeck say it's tanzaku size (13 x 43 cm). In reality, the prints of this series measure 17 x 38 cm, which corresponds exactly to horizontal o-hosoban paper size. I managed to assemble 11 of allegedly 12 designs. 7 of them have genitals colored by hand. It's hard to tell whether it was done by the publisher on demand of a peculiar buyer, or by the owner of the prints who considered the black and white privy parts unnatural. My sequencing of the prints is arbitrary. Transcription of the text may help find the correct order. As Japanese Erotic Fantasies put it: "a couple engaged in love-making, their stare fixed outside the picture plane". This is the only image of series that has a reference in available western literature, and the only one found in museum collections: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (RP-P-1999-2001-16); reference: Fukuda (ed.) (1990), pls. 11-2. The scene of this print looks quite similar to that of the Kiyonaga's Sode no maki:  The woman is "a young lady-in-waiting of Shogun's Court or Daimyō's Mansion, enjoying a rare outing from her tedious chores" [Richard Lane]. She is fully dressed in her outer cloak (shikake), white paper hat (agebōshi or tsunokakushi), and toed socks (tabi).  A book or maybe, onkotogami (roll of tissues known as 'paper for honourable act' ) is still in the folds of her kimono. She is holding an open fan, either to cover her and her lover's faces from an unsolicited witness or to bring some fresh air to their joined lips. The pair just started their sexual intercourse. A scene from medieval times. A courtier in eboshi cap having sex with an aristocratic young woman with a long straight hairstyle (suihatsu). Completely naked couple in the moment of ejaculation. Lavish garments with paulownia leaves on a yellow background counterbalance the white bodies on red bedding. The form of a woman's cheeks is telling, but I don't know about what. Maybe her advanced age? The pose of the couple and the overall composition are similar to that of the previous sheet. Though the lovers are dressed, and the woman's hairdo is well kept. The male looks older and the woman - younger.   A man takes a young maid from behind. She clenches the sleeve of her kimono in her teeth; it's either the moment of penetration (beginning of intercourse) or of her orgasm (the end of it).   This seems to be a forced intercourse between a lackey with extensive bodily hair and a young maid from the same household. This design is very much like the other one presented below, which is described at Japanese Erotic Fantasies on page 136 (pl. 43b) as follows: "The viewer peers through a mosquito net to see a child fast asleep, while his mother or wet-nurse moves towards her partner. On our print there is no child; instead of a sleeping baby, there is a roll of onkotogami. Fewer objects make the overall image concise, almost laconic in comparison with the Ehon hana fubuki (1802) design: A young couple in a moment of true love. He is listening to the beating of her heart. This is a moment of true love between an old monk and a young samurai. The latter even did not take of his socks (tabi). From Japanese Erotic Fantasies: "Boats played a crucial role in the workings of Yoshiwara, as they were the primary means of transport to the district. During the hot summer months, trips on pleasure boats were also a favourite pastime. Sex aboard a boat is a recurrent theme in shunga". The last print that I am currently lacking and hunting for: I know where it is, but I cannot reach it... yet.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of moon, stars, cloud, snowflake, gorintō, and Genji-mon in negative openwork (in-sukashi). Raised tubular rim (dote-mimi). Deep black patina, traces of lacquer. Naka-daka type of plate (thicker in center, getting thiner towards the rim). Visible gap between the rim and the plate. Dimensions: Height: 91.7 mm; Width: 90.8 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 2.5 mm, plate before rim: 2.2 mm, of the rim: 5.6 mm. At least Mid Muromachi period, 15th century, but possibly earlier. In 'Silver Book', commenting tsuba №34 Sasano writes: "The technique used to create the rim is the same used for the peak (koshimaki) of helmets (kabuto) during the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods." On the other hand, the abundance of sukashi elements points towards later times, perhaps late Muromachi or even Momoyama period. "Gorintō is a grave stone composed of five pieces, piled on one the other, representing, from the bottom upward, earth, water, fire, wind, and heaven, respectively" [Nihon Tō Kōza, Volume VI, Part 1.  AFU, 1993, p. 6. / LIB-1554]. A romantic description of the piece may look like this: The air is scented (incense symbol); it's a graveyard, marked by gorintō; a winter (snowflake) evening or night (moon, stars); mist is rising from a ravine towards moon. I did not manage to find a katchūshi piece of this design, only a few Kamakura-bori tsuba:

    100 selected tsuba from European collections. Catalogue by Robert Haynes and Robert Burawoy, 1984, page 16, №5.

     

    Japanese Sword Fittings. Collection of G.H. Naunton, Esq., by Henri L. Joly, - 1912; №9.

    While the upper tsuba is dated the end of Muromachi, the lower is attributed to the 17th century - Momoyama or early Edo period, though the author put this attribution under question. Deciphering of the strangely shaped opening to the left of nakago-ana is sometimes "a conventional scroll", and sometimes - a fern or bracken. I think mine is a cloud or mist, but I don't have any material evidence to prove this understanding, and I came to a conclusion based only on context. It may easily be dinosaurs playing ball. The fact that this thing always accompanies the Genji-mon, or incense symbol, it may be a scent itself.
  • Iron tsuba of circular form with design of pine trees (matsu) and monkey toys (kukurizaru) in openwork (ko-sukashi). Ko-Katchushi school.

    Raised rim (mimi) with iron bones (tekkotsu). Size: Diameter: 99.5 mm; Thickness: 2.1 mm at centre; 4.3 mm at the rim.

    Early Muromachi period: 15th century (Kakitsu - Bun'an era, 1441 - 1449).

  • Iron tsuba of square with cut-off edges form (sumi-iri-kakugata) with lattice design in openwork (sukashi) and solid center. Hitsu-ana plugged with lead.

    Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, ca. 16th century.

    Size: 81.3 x 80.0 x 3.6 mm References: 1) Tsuba Kanshoki. Kazutaro Torogoye, 1975, p. 95, lower image. It's also called Kyō shōami. 2) KTK-11: Koshi motif, Late Muromachi (16th c.)
  • Iron tsuba of square with cut-off edges form (sumi-iri-kakugata) with lattice design in openwork (sukashi) and pierced center.

    Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, ca. 16th century.

    Size: 73.2 x 72.4 x 3.6 mm References: 1) Tsuba Kanshoki. Kazutaro Torogoye, 1975, p. 95, lower image. It's also called Kyō shōami. 2) KTK-11: Koshi motif, Late Muromachi (16th c.)
  • Iron tsuba of round form with design of lattice (kōshi-mon, 格子文) cut in openwork (sukashi), with low relief shallow linear carving along the bars. Well forged plate with brown-ish hue. To the right of nakago-ana there is a clear inscription of the character Shō (正), which is explained by Markus Sesko is follows: "The Shinsa obviously recognized more from the signature when having the tsuba in hand, i.e. they were confident to say it is signed "Shōami" but the rest is illegible (ika-fumei, 以下不明). That is, if they were just able to read the first character SHŌ (正) and saw that there were two more, most likely A (阿) and MI (弥), they would have put those character in boxes on the paper. Boxes around characters namely means that the character is not 100% legible but it can be assumed what it is." Momoyama or early Edo period. Dimensions: 85.9 mm diameter, 3.6 mm thickness at seppa-dai. Weight: 79 g. NBTHK certificate № 425069 with attestation: Hozon - "Worthy of preservation". A similar tsuba is presented at Japanese Sword Fittings from the R. B. Caldwell Collection. Sale LN4188 "HIGO". Sotheby's, 30th March 1994, №15. The description says: "A rare early Kamakura-bori tsuba. Nambokucho period (late 14th century). Of circular form, the dark plate carved and pierced with a gate design, the struts with double engraved lines. Unsigned. 8.5 cm." The lot was sold for 1,840 GBP.

    Caldwell Collection. Sotheby's 1994, №15.

    We have two possible explanations of the discrepancy between Sotheby's and Shinsa/Sesko attribution: 1) either Sotheby's or Shinsa/Sesko were wrong in their attribution or 2) these are two different pieces, one - Kamakura-bori from the 14th century and another - Shōami from 16th/17th century. Anyway, I would consider my piece as a Shōami tsuba of Momoyama - early Edo period, just for the sake of modesty.