• Description: One volume in grey-blue French flapped wrapper, 24 x 16.7 cm, collated 8vo, with black and red lettering to front cover, printed on watermarked thick wove paper Alfax Navarre, margins untrimmed, some pages uncut, illustrated with 12 aquatint plates signed Le Loup. Front wrapper and title (red and black): RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE | L'ANTI-JUSTINE | OU | LES DÉLICES DE L' AMOUR | Nouvelle édition entièrement revue et corrigée, | établie pour la première fois sur le texte original de 1798. | PRÉCÉDÉE D'UNE NOTICE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE | par HELPEY | bibliographe poitevin | {device} | ILE SAINT-LOUIS | DE L’IMPRIMERIE DE Monsieur Nicolas. Limitation: Printed 350 copies, numbered 1-350, on alfax paper; this copy is № 256. Collation: 1-158 166, incl. the 1st and last leaves within the wrappers, total 126 leaves plus 12 plates extraneous to collation. Pagination: [4 blank] [1-4] 5-243 [244 blank] [4 blank], total 252 pages, ils. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970) № 1025, p. 45. Ref.: Danson Erotica Collection at Trinity College, Oxford – KK.6.33. Contributors: Nicolas Edmé Restif de la Bretonne (French, 1734 – 1806) – author. Louis Perceau [Helpey] (French, 1883 – 1942) – author. Maurice Henri Hector Duflou (French, 1885 – 1951) – publisher. The artist – Le Loup – unidentified.
  • Printed on-demand, pictorial softcover, 22.9 x 15.2 cm, front: MARTIN | VAN MAELE |{fac-simile il.}| AN ILLUSTRATED | BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CHECKLIST | S. A. PERRY ||, blurb to back, lettering to spine, pp.: [12] [1] 2-207 [3] (total 222 pages), 107 reproductions of van Maele illustrations, 94 items bibliographical description. Title-page: S. A. PERRY. | Martin Van Maele | An Illustrated Bibliographical Checklist | 2015 || in a double-fillet frame. Colophon: Made in the USA | Las Vegas, NV | 26 December 2021. Maurice François Alfred Martin van Maële [Martin van Maële] (French, 1863 – 1926).
  • © Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad, 1985. Printed and bound in Finland. Title-page (in red on the pictorial background): SAVED FOR | HUMANITY | THE HERMITAGE DURING | THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD | 1941-1944 | AURORA ART PUBLISHERS • LENINGRAD || Illustrated album in hardcover, 33 x 25 cm, bound in black cloth with gilt and red to front cover and spine, brown endpapers, pictorial dust jacket; pp.: [1-6] 7-270 [34], total 304 pages with 388 b/w and colour illustrations. TextSergei Petrovich Varshavsky [Сергей Петрович Варшавский] (Jewish-Russian, 1906 – 1980); B. Rest [Б. Рест; Юлий Исаакович Шапиро] (Jewish-Russian, fl. 1940 – 1980). Preface: Boris Piotrovsky [Борис Борисович Пиотровский] (Russian, 1908 – 1990). Translated by Arthur Shkarovsky-Rafeé. Layout by Liubov Rakhmilevich. Photography by Viktor Savik and Leonid Bogdanov. Design by Valery Ivanov. A twin edition to [LIB-3042.2022] S. Varshavsky, B. Rest. The ordeal of the Hermitage: The siege of Leningrad, 1941-1944 — Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985 and the Russian edition [LIB-3044.2022] C. Варшавский, Б. Рест. Подвиг Эрмитажа, 1941-1944 / Альбом. — Ленинград: Издательство «Аврора», 1987. The text extracted from [LIB-3035.2022] С. Варшавский, Б. Рест. Подвиг Эрмитажа: Государственный Эрмитаж в годы Великой отечественной войны. — М.-Л.: Советский художник, 1965.  
  • © Aurora Art Publishers: ISBN 0-8109-1406-9. Printed and bound in Finland. A pictorial album about the history and collections of The Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg during World War II. Title-page: in frame: THE ORDEAL | OF THE | THE SIEGE OF | LENINGRAD• | 1941 – 1944 | HERMITAGE; under the frame: Text by Sergei Varshavsky and Boris Rest | — | AURORA ART PUBLISHERS, LENINGRAD• | HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK || Description: Illustrated album in hardcover, 33 x 25 cm, bound in black cloth with gilt and purple lettering to spine, brown endpapers, pictorial dust jacket; pp.: [1-6] 7-270 [34], total 304 pages with b/w and colour illustrations. TextSergei Petrovich Varshavsky [Сергей Петрович Варшавский] (Jewish-Russian, 1906 – 1980); B. Rest [Б. Рест; Юлий Исаакович Шапиро] (Jewish-Russian, fl. 1940 – 1980). Preface: Boris Piotrovsky [Борис Борисович Пиотровский] (Russian, 1908 – 1990). Translated by Arthur Shkarovsky-Rafeé. Layout by Liubov Rakhmilevich. Photography by Viktor Savik and Leonid Bogdanov. A twin edition to [LIB-3043.2022] S. Varshavsky, B. Rest. Saved for humanity: the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad, 1941-1944. — Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, 1985 and the Russian edition [LIB-3044.2022] C. Варшавский, Б. Рест. Подвиг Эрмитажа, 1941-1944 / Альбом. — Ленинград: Издательство «Аврора», 1987. The text extracted from [LIB-3035.2022] С. Варшавский, Б. Рест. Подвиг Эрмитажа: Государственный Эрмитаж в годы Великой отечественной войны. — М.-Л.: Советский художник, 1965.
  • Glossy softcover, publisher’s pictorial wrappers, 30 x 23 cm, pp.: [i-v] vi-xi [xii blank], [2] 3-199 [200 blank], ils.; total 106 leaves. Title-page: Vertical from bottom to top along the outer margin in grey: KUNISADA'S WORLD; horizontally: KUNISADA'S WORLD | SEBASTIAN IZZARD | with essays by | J. THOMAS RIMER | JOHN T. CARPENTER | JAPAN SOCIETY, INC., in collaboration with the | UKIYO-E SOCIETY OF AMERICA || Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Japan Society Gallery, New York, September 30 - November 14, 1993. Contents: (1) Kunisada: in and out of his times; Kabuki at the time of Kunisada / J. Thomas Rimer. (2) Popular fiction in the age of Kunisada; Kunisada and the art of comic poetry / John T. Carpenter. (3) Kunisada the artist / Sebastian Izzard. Contributors: Sebastian Izzard J. Thomas Rimer (American, b. 1933) John T. Carpenter (American) Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) Select illustrations (references in this collection):

    SVJP-0179-3.2014: The Hour of the Tiger, Seventh Hour of Night from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock.

    SVJP-0222.2016: A view of the dressing room of a Theater in Dōtonbori, Ōsaka.

    SVJP-0105.2014: Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII as the ghost of Seigen.

  • Book title: Kabuki fan-prints from Edo: Genroku to Enkyō periods (1688-1748) [江戸歌舞伎団扇絵]  (Edo kabuki uchiwa-e: Genroku - Enkyō hen). Author: Shigeo Miyao [宮尾しげを] (Japanese, 1902 – 1982). Comments by: Sutezō Kimura [木村仙集] (Japanese, 20th century). Publisher: Inoue Shobō [井上書房] (Tokyo). Oblong volume bound in black washi paper with silver kabuki face design to front and silver lettering to spine and silver publisher’s name to back; three-colour title, folding frontispiece, second frontispiece, pp.: [6] foreword, contents, [2] f.t.p./blank, 3-134 [2], 43 full-page black & white illustrations, colophon slip pasted, bookstore label to back pastedown, in a pink slipcase with black lettering. Primitive fan prints from the Kaga collection, from 1691 to 1747. Edition: 1st edition, limited to 500 copies.
  • Hardcover volume, 29.6 x 25 x 4 cm, in red cloth with black lettering to spine, in pictorial dust jacket, profusely illustrated in colour; pp.: [1-6] 7-536, total 268 leaves and 2 folding plates extraneous to collation. Title-page: {Hotei's device} Hotei Publishing | Shunga | sex and pleasure in Japanese art | Edited by | Timothy Clark | C. Andrew Gerstle | Aki Ishigami | Akiki Yano || Contents: The Cultural Historical Significance and Importance of Japanese Shunga / Kobayashi Tadashi. Introduction: What Was Shunga? / C. Andrew Gerstle; Who Were the Audiences for Shunga? / Hayakawa Monta. (1) Early Shunga before 1765: Shunga Paintings before the `Floating World' / Akiko Yano; Chinese Chunhua and Japanese Shunga / Ishigami Aki; Shunga and the Rise of Print Culture / Asano Shugo. (2) Masterpieces of Shunga 1765-1850: The Essence of Ukiyo-e Shunga / Kobayashi Tadashi; Erotic Books as Luxury Goods / Ellis Tinios; Listening to the Voices in Shunga / Hayakawa Monta; The Tale of Genji in Shunga / Sato Satoru. (3) Censorship: Timeline of Censorship; Shunga and Censorship in the Edo Period (1600-1868) / Jennifer Preston; Graph of approximate output of shunga print series and books; The Censorship of Shunga in the Modern Era / Ishigami Aki; Shunga Studies in the Showa Era (1926-89) / Shirakura Yoshihiko. (4) Contexts for Shunga: Traditional Uses of Shunga / Yamamoto Yukari; The Distribution and Circulation of Erotic Prints and Books in the Edo Period Laura Moretti; Shunga and Parody / C. Andrew Gerstle; Popular Cults of Sex Organs in Japan / Suzuki Kenko; Grotesque Shunga / Ishigami Aki; Violence in Shunga / Higuchi Kazutaka; Foreign Connections in Shunga / Timon Screech; Children in Shunga / Akiko Yano; Shunga and the Floating World / Matsuba Ryoko. (5) Shunga in the Meiji Era: Erotic Art of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) / Rosina Buckland; The Modern West's Discovery of Shunga / Ricard Bru. Published to accompany the exhibition Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art at the British Museum from 3 October 2013 to 5 January 2014. Abstract: This catalogue aims to answer some key questions about what is shunga and why it was produced. In particular, the social and cultural contexts for sex art in Japan are explored. Erotic Japanese art was heavily suppressed in Japan from the 1870s onwards as part of a process of cultural 'modernisation' that imported many contemporary western moral values. Only in the last twenty years or so has it been possible to publish unexpurgated examples in Japan and this landmark book places erotic Japanese art in its historical and cultural context for the first time. This book looks at painted and printed erotic images produced in Japan during the Edo period (1600-1868) and early Meiji era (1868-1912). These are related to the wider contexts of literature, theatre, the culture of the pleasure quarters, and urban consumerism; and interpreted in terms of their sensuality, reverence, humour and parody. Contributors: Timothy Clark (British, b. 1959) Timothy Clark (British, b. 1959) C. Andrew Gerstle (American, 1951) Aki Ishigami [石上阿希] (Japanese) Akiki Yano
  • Pictorial paper hardcover, 29 x 22.5 cm, pp. [i-vi] vii-xiv, [2] 3-319 [3], total 336 pp. ISBN: 1442263393. ISBN/EAN: 9781442263390. Title-page: The Dictionary of the Book | A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, | Librarians, and Others | Sidney E. Berger | […] | Rowman & Littlefield | Lanham • Boulder • New York • London ||
  • In an owner’s quarter buckram cardboard folder with a vegetation diaper design, ms blue ink lettering to front: “Songes galantes | 12 dessins par | Margit Gaal” at the centre, “Arpad Rob Laszlo | à Paris | 1938” in the lower right corner. Loose sheets with the 1st leaf t.p. / table de planches, and then 12 leaves of lithograph plates. Title-page: SONGES GALANTES | 12 DESSINS PAR | MARGIT GAAL | ÉDITION PRIVÉE | PARIS 1920 ||, ms inscription in blue ink in the middle : “Collection par | Árpad Rob Laśzló | techn. d’avion | Paris 1937”. Limitation: Edition limited to 500 copies of which № 1-100 signed by the author. This is copy № 407. References: Dutel (1920-1970) № 1413 (published in 1921); Honesterotica (indicated the year of death as 1965, however, there is no proof). Contributors: Gaál, Margit (Hungarian, 1898 – 1920) – artist.  
  • Two paperback volumes, 29.6 x 22.8 cm, pictorial softcover in full dust jacket with letering (see below); One the back DJ of both volumes lettered: “Sotheby’s | EST. 1744 (vertical) | GALERIE CHARPENTIER   76 RUE DE FAUBOURG SAINT-HONORÉ   75008 PARIS   WWW. SOTHEBYS.COM”. Vol. 1: DJ lettered in olive green: Sotheby’s | EST. 1744 (vertical) | COLLECTION HUGUETTE BERES | ESTAMPES, DESSINS ET LIVRES ILLUSTRES JAPONAIS | {HB monogram in red} | PARIS  MERCREDI 27 NOVEMBRE 2002 ||. Pagination: 2 ffl, [1-5] (h.t., t.p., Sommaire), 6-340, 2 ffl; 229 lots with ils.; sale PF2021 Vol. 2: DJ lettered in olive green: “Sotheby’s | EST. 1744 (vertical) | COLLECTION HUGUETTE BERES | ESTAMPES, DESSINS ET LIVRES ILLUSTRES JAPONAIS (SECONDE VENTE) | {HB monogram in red} | PARIS  MARDI 25 novembre 2003 ||. Pagination: 2 ffl, [1-7] (h.t., t.p., Sommaire, f.t.) 8-287 [288 blank], 2 ffl; 252 lots with ils.; sale PF3018. Contributors: Huguette Berès (French, 1913 – 1999)
  • Hardcover volume, 22.5 x 15 cm, bound in red cloth with gilt lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket; pp.: [i-v] vi-xiv, [1-5] 6-251 [252], total 268 pages. Title-page: Alleged sex and threatened violence | Doctor Russel, Bishop Vladimir, and the Russians in | San Francisco, 1887-1892 | TERENCE EMMONS | — | Stanford University Press | Stanford, California | 1977 || ISBN: 9780804727679, 9780804727686, 0804727678, 0804727686. OCLC Number / Unique Identifier: 35159156. Doctor Nikolai Sudzilovsky [Nicholas Russel] (Belarusian, 1850 – 1930). Bishop Vladimir (Sokolovsky-Avtonomov, Vasily Grigorievich) Архиепископ Владимир (Соколовский-Автономов, Василий Григорьевич) (Russian, 1852 – 1931) – Archbishop of the Aleutians and Alaska.    
  • Softcover, 22.5 x 16.5 cm, pictorial paperback, pp.: [i-xi] xii-xix [xx blank] [2] [1] 2-179 [180] [6 advert.], total 206 pp plus cardstock Portable Stanford form. Nicholas Russel [Николай Константинович Судзиловский] (Russian-American, 1850 – 1930)  
  • Softcover, in pictorial wrappers, 28 x 21.7 cm, 25 entries, with colour illustrations, some folding. Catalogue of the sales exhibition on March 28 -April 7, 2006, in NY; pagination: [2] 3-61 [62 blank [2], ils. Contributor: Sebastian Izzard
  • Volume collated 4to, 32.5 x 21 cm, later full calf, blind-tooled boards, sunned, raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. bound without the additional engraved title-page sometimes present; title printed in black and red, woodcut headpieces and initials; a little foxing (mostly marginal) throughout, title lightly dust stained with slight chipping at extremities, minor marginal worming to early leaves (b3-I4), paper flaw to outer margin of E1; contemporary English ownership inscription of George Legh to the title, a handful of manuscript corrections to text and annotations to index. Title-page (double frame, red and black, tall ‘s’): THE MOST EXCELLENT | HUGO GROTIUS | HIS THREE | BOOKS | Treating of the | RIGHTS | OF | WAR & PEACE. | In the First is handled, | Whether any War be Just. | In the Second is shewed , | The Causes of War, both Just and Uujust (sic). | In the Third is declared , | What in War is Lawful ; that is, | Unpunishable. | With the Annotations digested into the | Body of every Chapter. | — | Translated into ENGLISH by | William Evats, B. D. | — | LONDON, | Printed by M. W. for Thomas Basset at the George in Fleetstreet, and | Ralph Smith at the Bible under the Piazza of the Royal Exchange | in Cornhill. M DC LXXXII. || Collation: A4 a-b4 c3 B-Z4 2A-2D4 2E6 3A-3Z4 4A-4D4 4E-4L2; total 247 leaves as called for; lacking engraved title-page. Pagination: [4] i-xxi [5] 1-220 (text continuous) 361-572 [573] [574 blank] [30 table]; total 494 pages. Seller’s note: First edition of the first complete English translation, following Barksdale’s abridgement, of Grotius’s landmark work of political philosophy, the first treatise on international law. First published in Latin in 1625, Grotius’s De iure belli ac pacis “became the basic manual for both the theoretical justification and the entire practice of the international law of war as well as of international law in general for the whole period of the ancien régime in Europe” [Duchhardt, p. 288]. “It would be hard to imagine any work more central to the intellectual world of the Enlightenment … [By] the time of the post-First World War settlement, Grotius was regarded almost exclusively as the founder of modern civilized interstate relations, and as a suitable tutelary presence for the new Peace Palace at The Hague … [In] some ways that was to radically misunderstand Grotius’s views on war; he was in fact much more of an apologist for aggression and violence than many of his more genuinely innovative qualities of his moral theory, qualities that entitle him to an essential place in the history of political theory …” [Tuck, pp. xi-xii]. Contributors: Hugo Grotius (Dutch, 1583 – 1645) – author. William Evats (British, c.1606 – 1677) – translator. Margaret White (British, fl. 1678 – 1683) – printer. Thomas Bassett (British, fl. c. 1659 – 1693) – publisher/bookseller. Ralph Smith (British, fl. 1642 – 1684) – publisher/bookseller.
  • Description: Two volumes, collated 4to, usually described as 12mo, 16.5 x 10.5 cm each, uniformly bound in full calf, bordered in gilt with a triple-fillet over blind dentelle, flat spine ornamented in gilt with two crimson labels, gilt dentelle inside, blue marbled endpapers with previous owner bookplate to front pastedown in each vol.: "W. E. A. MACDONNELL. | NEW HALL | Co. of Clare.", and a ticket in a blue border “162”. Illustrated by T. Bewick after J. Thurston with frontispiece portrait of Robert Burns, numerous woodcut endpieces and a total of 14 full-page woodcut vignettes throughout. Title-page: THE | POETICAL WORKS | OF | ROBERT BURNS; | WITH HIS LIFE | ORNAMENTED WITH | ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD BY MR. BEWICK | FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS BY MR. THURSTON. | — | IN TWO VOLUMES. | VOL I. (VOL. II.) | — | ALNWICK: | Printed by William Davison. | SOLD BY THE BOOKSELLERS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND | AND IRELAND. | – | 1808. || Vol. 1: Collation: π3 (1st blank, engraved frontispiece portrait of R. Burns, t.p.), a2 b-e4, A-Z4, 2A-2E4 (2E)4 (last two blank); total 137 leaves, numerous endpieces and 9 woodcut plates by Thomas Bewick after John Thurston within collation. Pagination: [2 blank] [i-v] 6 (i.e. vi) xlii [43-45] 46-268 (265-268 marked 263–266, respectively, [4 blank]; total 274 pages, of which 6 blank (pagination by Hugo: xlii, 297, 26), full-page plates opposite to pp. 73, 82, 106, 127, 141, 178, 192, 213, 219. Vol. 2: Collation: π5 (1st blank, t.p., 3 leaves of contents), A-B4 (C omitted) D-Z4, 2A-2G4 (2H omitted) 2I2 2K-2M4 2N1 χ2; total 138 leaves, numerous endpieces and 6 woodcut plates by Thomas Bewick after John Thurston within collation. Pagination: [2 blank] [i-iii] iv-xi (v marked vii, viii marked ix), 12-270 (16 marked 17, 76 marked 67, 84 marked 86, 96 marked 90, 112 marked 110, 203-207 marked 205-209, 220-224 marked 222-226), [4 blank]; total 276 pages, of which 6 blank (pagination by Hugo: xii, 320), full-page plates opposite to pp. 11, 40, 70, 191, 221. Catalogue raisonné: Hugo (1866): № 230, v. 1, p. 92-93; according to Hugo, the year 1808 was not stated, the number of pages in each volume is different to my copy. Provenance: Colonel William Edward Armstrong-Macdonnell (Irish, 1858 – 1883) of New Hall, Ennis, County Clare, Ireland (presumed). Contributors: Robert Burns (Scottish, 1759 – 1796) – author. Thomas Bewick (British, 1753 – 1828) – engraver. John Thurston (British, 1774 – 1822) – artist. William Davison (British, 1781 – 1858) – printer/publisher.
  • Artist: Toyohara Chikanobu [豊原周延] (Japanese, 1838 – 1912) Signed: Chikanobu ga [周延画] Publisher: [ 東京掘江町] Tokyo Horiemachi | [えん市製] Enshi-sei. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 192 x 172 mm. Actors: Female: Bandō Kakitsu I in the role of Shizuka Gozen [静御前]. Male: Ichikawa Sadanji I in the role of Kitsune Tadanobu [狐忠信], a.k.a. Satō Tadanobu [佐藤 忠信]. Bandō Kakitsu I [初代 坂東 家橘] (Japanese, 1847 – 1893); other names: Ichimura Kakitsu V, Ichimura Uzaemon XIV, Ichimura Kakitsu V, Ichimura Uzaemon XIV, Ichimura Takematsu III. Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] (Japanese, 1842 – 1904); other names: Ichikawa Shōjaku I, Ichikawa Koyone, Ichikawa Tatsuzō.
  • Artist: Toyohara Chikanobu [豊原周延] (Japanese, 1838 – 1912) Signed: Chikanobu hitsu [周延筆] Publisher: [ 東京掘江町] Tokyo Horiemachi | [えん市製] Enshi-sei. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 192 x 172 mm. Possibly Iwai Kumesaburō IV [岩井粂三郎] (1856 – 1886) a.k.a. Iwai Hisajirō III [岩井久次郎] in the role of Ono no Komachi [小野乃小町] and Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] in the role of Kisen Hōshi [喜せん法師]. Play: The Six Immortal Poets in Colorful Guises [六歌仙体綵] (Rokkasen Sugata no irodori). Inscription: Left: Kisen [喜せん] | Shikan [芝翫]  Right: Komachi [小町] | Kumesaburō [粂三郎]. Actors: Iwai Kumesaburō IV [岩井粂三郎] (1856 – 1886) a.k.a. Iwai Hisajirō III [岩井久次郎]. Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] (Japanese, 1831 –  1899); other names: Nakamura Fukusuke I [中村福助], Nakamura Masanosuke I, Nakamura Komasaburō, Nakamura Tamatarō I.
  • Iron tsuba of the round form (丸型, maru–gata), decorated with brass flat inlay (平象嵌, hira-zōgan) of bellflowers, leaves, and vines on both sides, inlaid brass is carved in low relief; wide rim (dote-mimi) also inlaid; the plate is pierced with hitsu-ana (probably original); nakago-ana plugged with copper sekigane. Dimensions: Height: 84.1 mm; Width: 82.0 mm; Thickness (centre): 2.8 mm; mimi is 11.8 mm wide and 4.7 mm thick. Produced at the end of the 16th century, in the Momoyama period (1674–1703).  
  • Artist: Tsukioka Tanka [旦霞] (Japanese, fl. c. 1830s – 1840s). Publisher: Enshūya Matabei [遠州屋又兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1768 – 1881); seal: Enmata. Title: Picture of Fuji, Tsukuba and Sumida River [富士筑波隅田川の圖] (フジ ツクバ スミダガワ ノ ズ | Fuji Tsukuba Sumidagawa no zu). Date seal 巳 + kiwame: Tenpō 4 (1833). Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 235 x 302 mm, aizuri-e. Only four prints are known from this artist, all fans: (1) National Diet Library 2542868:
    (2) Ritsumeikan University mai30_07: (3) RISD Museum 34.334:
  • Description: exhibition catalogue, softcover terra-cotta paper with lettered black label to front and black lettering to spine, black endpapers; pp.: [1-6] 7-131 [132] plus colour frontispiece and 5 colour plates outside pagination, 190 entries with b/w in-text illustrations. Front cover (in the octagonal black label): UKIYO-E | PRINTS AND PAINTINGS | THE PRIMITIVE PERIOD | 1680–1745 | THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO || Title-page: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | UKIYO-E PRINTS AND PAINTINGS | THE PRIMITIVE PERIOD, 1680–1745 | An Exhibition in Memory of Margaret O. Gentles | November 6th–December 26th, 1971 | Catalogue by DONALD JENKINS || Foreword by Charles C. Cunningham, Tribute to Margaret O. Gentles by Jack V. Sewell. Contributors: Margaret O. Gentles (American, 1905 – 1969) Donald John Jenkins (American, b. 1931) Charles Crehore Cunningham (American, 1910 – 1979) Jack V. Sewell (American, 1923 – 2010)
  • Softcover volume 29.8 x 22.7 cm in publisher’s flapped pictorial wrappers, lettered in Japanese; pp.: [1-4] 5-365 [3], total 184 leaves; pp. 26-267 present 438 illustrations, text in Japanese and English. Reference in this collection: SVJP-0234.2018 – here it is also described as a diptych.

    № 358, p. 226. Bandō Mitsugorō III as Grand arbiter Kiyosumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke.

     
  • Artist: Utagawa Fusatane [歌川 房種] (Japanese, fl. 1854 – 1889), other names: Ippyosai; Isshosai; Murai Seima; Utagawa Seimas; Osai; Signed: Ōsai Fusatane Hitsu [桜斎房種筆] in a cartouche, with a round stamp. Block carver: Watanabe Yatarō (Japanese, 1850 – 1913); seal [彫弥太] – Hori Yata (Friese 2009b: 117). Publisher [板元] (Hammoto): Satō Ise [佐藤いせ], address: Horiechō, Nichōme, ichi-banchi [堀江町二丁目一番地] Publication date [御届] (otodoke): Meiji 10th year, 3rd month, 22nd day (1877). Artist [画工] (Gakō): Murai Seima [村井 静馬], address: Honjo-Sotodechō, 18 [本所外手丁十八番地]. Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 236 x 297 mm, depicting two harlots or courtesans playing [娼妓あそび] (shōgi asobi) go game in the famous Kinpeiro [金瓶楼内] brothel in New Yoshiwara in Tokyo. In the courtesan's name, the second character seems to be 紫 (Murasaki); the first character is unclear, so we do not know her name yet.
  • Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目 歌川広重] (Japanese, 1826 – 1869). Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Enshūya Matabei [遠州屋又兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1768 – 1881); (Enmata [遠又]), seal 22-009 (Marks). Block carver: Matsushima Masakichi (Japanese, fl. c. 1847-65); seal: [松嶋彫政] – Hori Masa (Frieze, 2009: 142). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Bunkyū 2 (1862). Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 230 x 298 mm Series: Three Famous Views in Ise [伊勢名所三景] (Ise meisho sankei).
  • Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目 歌川広重] (Japanese, 1826 – 1869). Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862); seal: Hanmoto, Ue [板元 上] (Marks 19-047 | 156d). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Bunkyū 2 (1862) Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 230 x 296 mm.
  • Kominato in Awa province [Awa Kominato] – one of five fan prints in the series Famous places in the Bōsō peninsula [Bōsō meisho], devoted to the trip undertaken by Hiroshige in 1852 to Bōsō peninsula (present-day Chiba prefecture). “Two fashionably dressed women beside the veranda of a wayside inn gaze out over Uchiura Bay toward the Tanjō Temple on the far shore, as a boat sets out to the sea from the fishing hamlet of Kominato. …Hiroshige’s viewpoint is from the lower slopes of Mount Kiyosumi”. Ref: Sebastian Izzard. Important Japanese Prints 1830–1860 March 14–20, 2020 exhibition [LIB-2398.2020], №. 52. Not in Faulkner's Hiroshige Fan Prints. Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858). Publisher: Tsujiya Yasubei [辻屋安兵衛] Kinkaido [錦魁堂] (Japanese, c. 1842 – 1863) Date seal and double nanushi censor seal: Mera & Watanabe; Kaei 5, 11th month (1852). Signed: Hiroshige ga [広重 画] in a red cartouche. Size: Fan print (Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e); 225 x 292 mm.
  • The Bay of Kuroto in Kazusa province [Kazusa Kuroto no ura]  – an uncut fan print showing "Three women, wearing stylish cotton summer robes are shown in a skiff, admiring the view of Mount Fuji while looking back at the other passengers being helped into small boats". From the series: Views of famous places in the provinces [Shokoku meisho zue]. Ref: Sebastian Izzard. Important Japanese Prints 1830–1860 March 14–20, 2020 exhibition [LIB-2398.2020], №. 53. Not in Faulkner's Hiroshige Fan Prints, however, there are three other prints from the series, under № 95, 96 and 97 on p. 95. Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858). Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862). Date seal: 2/1855 Signed: Hiroshige ga. Censor's seal: aratame (certified) and date. Publisher's seal: Iseya Sōemon. Size: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e; 22.9 x 29.8 cm
  • One of five fan prints from the series The Pride of Edo Compared to the Five Elements [Edo jiman mitate gogyo]. Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858). Publisher: Ibaya Kyubei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, fl. 1804 – 1851). Signed: Hiroshige ga Censor’s seal: Muramatsu Publisher's seal: Kinseido (Ibaya Kyubei) The text in the fan-shaped cartouche reads: "Water: The Square Aqueduct that Crosses by Suido Bridge Suggests the comparison of Ochanomizu to Water [Mizu: Ochanomizu josui no himasu Suidobashi areba gogyo no uchi mizu ni nazorau]". Ref: Rupert Faulkner. Hiroshige Fan Prints. Victoria and Albert Museum. Far Eastern Series. Hardcover - Harry N. Abrams, Inc. - 2001 [LIB-1344.2017] № 22, p. 51. Comment from Sebastian Izzard: This series of five prints features full-length figures of women set in landscapes around Edo compared to the five natural elements: fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. A preparatory drawing for the “Wood” image, featuring a woman crossing a bridge in the snow at the timber yards of Fukagawa, is owned by the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of History in Yokohama. A preparatory drawing also exists for the “Earth” image, which portrays a woman seated on a bench at Nakabashi, for which no print is extant. Two examples exist of the “Fire” subject, which pictures a woman holding a lantern at night on an embankment, while in the river behind her fishermen employ fire to trap their catch. The “Water” image depicts a woman on a pleasure boat on the Ocha-no-mizu waterway. One example of the “Metal” subject is known, which was included in Izzard's Important Japanese Prints 1830–1860 March 14–20, 2020 exhibition [LIB-2398.2020], as №. 51.

    Metal. Izzard, 2020.

    Fire. Faulkner, 2001.

     
  • Title: Modori Kago [戻駕] (Returning palanquin). The dance-drama Modori Kago Iro ni Aikata [戻駕色相肩] premiered in the 11th lunar month of 1788 at the Nakamuraza [中村座], within Sakurada Jisuke I's kaomise [顔見世] (faceshowing) program Tôzumô Hana no Edogata [唐相撲花江戸方]", which celebrated the homecoming to Edo, after two years' absence, of Nakamura Nakazō I, and was intended to show off his particular talents in the role of Jirosaku (in reality Ishikawa Goemon [石川 五右衛門]) [kabuki21]. The symbol on a green book cover is the informal crest of tokiwazu-bushi [常磐津節] shaped like a water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) lozenge. Artist signature 国盛画 (Kunimori ga) with red toshidama. According to Samuel L. Leiter’s Kabuki Encyclopedia (1979), p. 243: The palanquin bearers Nanpa no Jirosaku and Azuma no Yōshirō, who are bearing a palanquin with a courtesan's young handmaiden in it, stop to rest at Kyoto's Murasakino, and each dances his regional dance. Then they call the girl, who does a dance showing the visitors to the famous pleasure quarters, Yoshiwara and Shimabara. The two men recognize each other as Ishikawa Goemon and Masashiba Hisayoshi, sworn enemies, and engage in a fight. This number is the only remaining section of an annual "faceshowing” (kaomize) work with a plot based on the medieval chronicle called the Toikōki. The full-length piece was called Kara Sumō Hanaeda no Kata. It is one of the most famous tokiwazu pieces and preserves the old-style Kabuki flavour. Nakamura Nakazō I played Jirosaku and Matsumoto Kōshirō IV was Yoshiro in the first production. The handmaiden was Matsumoto Komesaburō (probably Matsumoto Komasaburō I, an unknown actor [SV]). According to Egenolf Gallery: This work was first performed in 1788 at the Edo Nakamura-za as the season’s first performance and featured Nakamura Nakazō, who returned to Edo after three years in Osaka. It was a dance with tokiwazu chanting and was designed for him to play the lead role. In the piece, two palanquin carriers, one from Osaka, another from Edo, and a passenger – a kamuro, (a young geisha-in-training) exchange stories about the pleasure quarters of Shimabara and Yoshiwara. The text of the chanting book is open next to her, carrying the title “Collection of Practicing” [稽古尽くし], on which the green bundle cover carries the crest of Tokiwazu School, matsu-kawa-bishi, diamond variety of pine bark and the artist’s signature. Tokiwazu is a type of jōruri, narrative music, and accompanies dancing on the kabuki stage. Ref.: Christie's 27 Mar 2006. Publisher: Maruya Jinpachi, seal Marujin (Marks: 12-029 | 294e) Single nanushi censor seal: Mura (Murata Sahei, 1842-46). Provenance: Circular seal of the collector Huguette Bérès to verso. Contributors: Utagawa Kunimori [歌川国盛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1818 – 1943) – artist. Maruya Jinpachi [丸屋甚八] (Japanese, fl. 1770 – 1842) – publisher. Other mentioned: Nakamura Nakazō I [中村仲蔵] (Japanese, 1736 – 1790); other names: Nakayama Kojūrō VI, Nakamura Ichijūrō, Nakayama Manzō – actor. Matsumoto Kōshirō IV [松本幸四郎] (Japanese, 1737 – 1802); other names: Omegawa Kyōjūrō; Ichikawa Komazō II, Ichikawa Somegorô I, Ichikawa Takejūrō ; Segawa Kinji; Segawa Kingo – actor. Sakurada Jisuke I [桜田治助] (Japanese, 1734 – 1806) – dramatist.    
  • Softcover, in pictorial wrappers, 28 x 21.8 cm, 64 entries, with colour illustrations, some folding. Catalogue # 17 of the sales exhibition on March 17-21, 2021 in NY; pagination: [1-3] 4-182 [2], ils. Contributor: Sebastian Izzard Select illustrations (references in this collection): SVJP-0222.2016: A view of the dressing room of a Theater in Dōtonbori, Ōsaka. SVJP-0105.2014: Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII as the ghost of Seigen. Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III . Mitate sanjurokkasen no uchi SVJP-0360.2022: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII. SVJP-0361.2022: Beauty playing the shamisen beneath a mosquito net. SVJP-0359.2022: Young woman checks her makeup in a mirror. SVJP-0197.2015: Three Pleasures of Present-day Osaka (Tôsei Naniwa no sankô); left; centre, right.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Pubisher (accorfding to Suzuki & Oka): Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869), Dansendō [伊場仙]. Title: Beauty holding a roll of paper (by seller); A woman of Edo (by Suzuki & Oka) Date seal and aratame censor seal: 1822 (Bunsei 5). Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 228 x 295 mm. Ref: [LIB-3085.2022] Jūzō Suzuki, Isaburō Oka. “The decadents”. — Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1969, p. 35, plate 30: exactly this print:  
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche Publisher: Unknown (no seal). Date: c. 1832 Izzard: "... red cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859) poetry names, and the name of his residence in Fukagawa. The absence of publisher's emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use". Ref.: [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 112-3, fig. 32). Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 235 x 295 mm.
  • An uncut fan print showing a young woman checking her makeup in a mirror from the series The pride of Edo [江戸じまん] (Edo jiman). The head portrait in the red circle is of kabuki actor Danjūrō VII. Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859); other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, fl. 1804 – 1851). Artists signature: Ōkō Kunisada ga [應好国貞画] (Drawn to satisfy the taste of Kunisada) Publisher’s seal:久 – Ibakyū [伊場久]. Censor's seal: Kiwame; date seal: Bunsei 10 (1827). Saze: Aiban uchiwa-e; 23.2 x 28.9 cm. Ref.: [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 102, Cat. 28–fig. a.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artists signature: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche. Character: Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目 市川 團十郎]; other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (Japanese, 1791 – 1859). Series: Six choice modern flowers [當世六花撰] (Tosei rok’kasen). No publisher's seal, no date or censor's seal is present. Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 232 x 289 mm. Provenance: Paul F. Walter. Izzard: "... six prints make up this set of fan prints, which compares contemporary artists with classic poets, in this case, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII with Ōtomo no Kuronushi [大友 黒主]  (Japanese, dates unknown)". Rok'kasen [六歌仙] – six poetry immortals. According to Izzard, identification of the portrayed person is made possible by mimasu-mon [三升] on the robe, scrolling peony on the back of the mirror, and cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of the actor's poetry names, and other signs and symbols, including the inscription of the acter's guild name Naritaya. The absence of the publisher’s emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use. Ref: (1) [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 130-1, fig. 42). (2) Lyon Collection. Mimasu-mon, or Mitsumasu, is the Ichikawa Danjūrō family crest – three wooden measures, nested square boxes.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artist signature: By the brush of the 79-year-old Toyokuni [七十九歳豊國画] (Nanajūkyū-sai Toyokuni ga). Publisher: Ebiya Rinnosuke [海老屋林之助] (Japanese, fl. c. 1832 – 1895); seal: ト/ 海老林 (to, Ebirin). Block carver: Matsushima Masakichi [松島政吉]; seal: carved by Masa [彫政] (Hori Masa). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: [子極] 1864 (Bunkyū 4/Genji 1). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 223 x 297 mm. Inscription in the cartouches: (R) Wakana-hime [若菜姫], Sawamura Tanosuke III [沢村田之助]; (L) Ashikaga Sanshichirō [足利三七郎], Sawamura Tosshō II [沢村訥升]. Play: Kinoene Soga Daikoku-bashira [甲子曽我大国柱], performed at the Morita theatre [森田座・守田座] (Morita-za) in 1864 (Bunkyū 4/Genji 1), 2nd month (see playbill at MFA-Boston Collection). Playwright: Muraoka Kōji II [村岡幸治]. Actors and Characters: Sawamura Tanosuke III [三代目沢村田之助] (Japanese, 1859 – 1878); other names: Shozan [曙山] (poetry name), Sawamura Yoshijirō I [初代沢村由次郎], here in the role of Princess Wakana [若菜姫] (Wakana-hime) (R). The story about Princess Wakana, Shiranui Monogatari, was written by Ryukatei Tanekazu [柳下亭種員] (Japanese, 1807 – 1858) and published as a 90-volume book of comics between 1849 and 1855. ...The tale revolves around the clash between the Kikuchi and Ōtomo clans. Princess Wakana’s father Ōtomo Sōrin [大友 宗麟] (1530 – 1587) was killed in a battle, and his spirit demanded revenge. To appease her late father's spirit, Princes Wakana acquired the power of the Earth Spider. She often appears in prints with a magic scroll, which helps her fight various enemies. Sawamura Tosshō II [二代目沢村訥升] (Japanese, 1854 – 1879); other names: Kōga [高賀] (poetry name), Sawamura Genpei II [二代目沢村源平], Sawamura Sōjūrō [澤村宗十郎], Suketakaya Takasuke IV [四代目助高屋高助], Sawamura Tosshi VI [六代目澤村訥子] (poetry name), here in the role of Ashikaga Sanshichirō [足利三七郎] (L) with a horse. According to Markus Sesko, the scene comes from the kabuki play Umakiri (馬斬り) by Tatsuoka Mansaku [辰岡万作] (17432 – 1809), which premiered in 1794. It was later assimilated into the Kabuki play Kozotte Mimasu Kuruwa no Datezome [襷廓三升伊達染], which was staged in the 1st lunar month of 1853 at the Nakamura-za. Umakiri is based on a Kyōgen play featured in Hideyoshi’s biography Taikōki [太閤記]. Its plot is that Ashikaga Sanchichirō Yoshitaka [足利三七郎義孝・義高], who is supposed to allude to Nobunaga’s son Oda Sanshichirō Nobutaka [織田三七郎信孝], attacks and kills a horse that is carrying 3,000 ryō (金三千両), money Mashiba Hisayoshi [真柴久吉] (an allusion to Hashiba Hideyoshi [羽柴秀吉]) had sent to be donated to a shrine on Mt. Kōya. The surrounding people try to catch him, but when they hear it is Yoshitaka who killed the horse, they fall to the ground and prostrate, and Yoshitaka leisurely leaves with the money. The plot is very simple, but Yoshitaka’s dashing appearance makes it very pleasing to watch. There are also prints that quote the main protagonist as Ashikaga Sanshichirō Harutaka [足利三七郎春高], and there is another title for the play, Sanzen-Ryō Kogane no Kurairi [三千両黄金蔵入] (Pocketing 3,000 ryō of gold). For reference, see also the BLOG. What these two characters are doing in one play remains a riddle. As Mr Graebner comments: "Most kabuki plays were only performed for one season (two months), and the books were lost. The playwrights have repeatedly used parts of plots from other plays, they have adopted characters, sometimes with the same or similar names. What can be found is the Kabuki Playbill (Tsuji banzuke) with cast and roles; the content is lost".

    MBA-Boston Accession number 11.28192

    Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Horst Graebner of the Kunisada Project and to Markus Sesko of The Metropolitan Museum, NY, for the analysis of the image and their invaluable contribution. For reference, see also:        
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). No publisher seal, no date or censor seal; probably a private printing. Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 294 mm, with the use of mica and black lacquer.    
  • Title: On the Banks of the Kamo River [加茂堤] (Kamo Tsutsumi),  sometimes transcribed as Kamo Zutsumi. Series: A Parody of Sugawara [美立菅原] (Mitate Sugawara). The word mitate is usually written as 立 but here it is 立, like on another Kunisada's fan print A beauty reading a book on a balcony overlooking a bay: A Parody of Sugawara Stripes (see SVJP-0334.2021 in this collection). On the Banks of the Kamo River is a scene from the play Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy [菅原伝授手習鑑] (Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami); it was originally written for the puppet theatre (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in the 8th lunar month of 1746 in Ôsaka at the Takemotoza. It was adapted for Kabuki the following month and staged for the first time in Kyôto at the Kitagawa no Shibai, produced by Nakamura Kiyosaburô I. It was also performed for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza, in the 3rd lunar month of 1747. The shape of the cartouche resembles an ox cart viewed from the back which alludes to the scene Fighting for the Carriage (Kuruma biki). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni [豊国] in a red toshidama cartouche. The character ga [画] is missing (cut out). Publisher’s seal: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. 1815 – 1869). The date seal and censor seals were possibly trimmed out. According to [LIB-3008.2022] Andreas Marks (Tuttle, 2010; p. 267), the series was produced by Ibaya in 1851. Ref.: (1) Samuel L. Leiter. Historical dictionary of Japanese traditional theatre (Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts) / 2nd edition. – Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014©.  (2) Andreas Marks. Japanese woodblock prints: Artists, publishers and masterworks, 1680 – 1900 / Foreword by Stephen Addiss. — Tuttle Publishing, 2010©. Acknowledgements: This masterpiece of ukiyo-e would not be properly described without input from Elena Varshavsky and Horst Graebner.