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NEWArtist: Unknown No censor seal, no date seal. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1815 – 1869); seal: san (三) in a circle Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 228 x 265 mm. The fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵) depicts the Eitai Bridge (永代橋, Eitai-bashi), one of Edo’s famous landmarks, spanning the Sumida River (隅田川, Sumida-gawa). The wooden arched structure is crowded with pedestrians. Below, the river is bustling with boats, including pleasure barges (yakata-bune, 屋形船) and transport vessels. In the background, Mount Fuji (富士山, Fujisan) rises above the horizon, while the soft gradient of the sky suggests early morning or evening light.
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This uchiwa-e print (230 × 323 mm) presents a bust-length portrait in a three-quarter view, facing left, depicting a fashionable married woman, as indicated by her blackened teeth (ohaguro, 鉄漿)—a practice reserved for married women and courtesans in Edo-period Japan. She is engaged in personal grooming, possibly cleaning her teeth with a toothpick or applying red lipstick (beni, 紅). She wears a blue kimono with circular motifs featuring a stylized eye-like pattern (janome-gasa, 蛇の目傘) layered over a red tie-dyed undergarment (shibori, 絞り). A small hand towel (tenugui, 手拭い), decorated with blue flowers and butterflies, rests over her left shoulder. Her Shimada-style coiffure is elaborately adorned with kanzashi (簪, hair ornaments), including a blue ribbon, a floral-patterned comb, and a gilt hairpin. In her right hand, she holds a red lacquer cup. The soft brown background is decorated with floral roundels, which appear as negative space, meaning the background was printed while the roundels were left uninked.
The print lacks an artist's signature or publisher's seal. Still, it bears a censor’s approval seal (kiwame, 極) and a partially visible date seal, likely 申 (Saru, Year of the Monkey), corresponding to Bunsei 7 (1824).
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NEWAn uncut fan print depicting a carp (koi) swimming amid aquatic plants against a deep blue background. Artist: unknown/unsigned, possibly Katsushika Hokusai [葛飾 北斎] (Japanese, 1760 – 1849). Publisher: Enshūya Matabei [遠州屋又兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1768 – 1881) Date: No date seal, no censor seal (privately printed?) Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 224 x 290 mm. Similar subject:
Katsushika TAITO II (fl. c. 1810-53)
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NEWTransparent colourless lead glass paperweight with sulphide portrait of Napoléon III undersigned 'L.Napoléon' in a millefiori circle. Character: Napoleon III, Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (French, 1808 – 1873) Maker: Compagnie des Cristalleries de Saint Louis, Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche, département Moselle, région Grand Est.
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Two volumes, 135 x 85 mm each, uniformly bound in full brown morocco with triple fillet border, flat spine with gilt fleurons and double fillet bands, gilt lettered label, interior dentelle, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; four volumes in two, collated in 12mo. Vol. 1: pp.: [1-5] 6-100, coll.: 1-86 92;(i.e. 50 leaves); [1-5] 6-130; coll.: 1-106 115 (i.e. 65 leaves); plus two blanks in the front and at the rear, and nine plates, incl. frontispiece. Vol. 2: pp.: [1-5] 6-111 [112 blank], coll.: 14 2-96 104 (i.e. 56 leaves); [4 ht, tp] [1] 2-99 [100 blank], coll.: π2 1-86 92 (i.e. 52 leaves); plus two blanks in the front and at rear, and four plates. Title-page: FÉLICIA, | OU | MES FREDAINES. | {in rules} La faute en est aux Dieux qui me firent si folle.| TOME PREMIER/ SECOND/ TROISIÉME/ QUATRIÈME. | —•— | A LONDRES | M. DCC. LXXVI. || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel, A-399, p. 132. Contributors: André-Robert Andréa de Nerciat (French, 1739 – 1800) – author.
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A salt print 208 x 155 mm hand-coloured with watercolours depicting a fencer standing in full gear, mounted on cardboard with all four corners cut out and traces of an oval frame.
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Softcover volume 200 x 145 mm, in a slipcase, unbound, in French wrappers, sanguine lettering on cream paper, block printed on wove paper with watermark “Marais”, collated 8vo, pp.: [1-6] 7-114 [6], 60 leaves, first and last leaves blank; illustrated with 20 etchings, incl. vignette on front wrapper, two head- and two tailpieces, printed in sanguine; etching on t.p., similar to the one on the front wrapper, printed in black. Limited edition of 250 copies, this is copy № 24. Front wrapper and title-page: in a double frame A de M. | GAMIANI | {vignette} || Colophon: CE LIVRE | IMPRIMÉ AUX DÉPENS | D'UN GROUP D'AMATEURS | SUR PAPIER CHIFFON | A ÉTÉ TIRE | A DEUX CENT CINQUANTE EXEMPLAIRES | LA VENTE AU PUBLIC | EN EST RIGOUREUSEMENT INTERDITE | EXEMPLAIRE N°24 || [This book is printed at the expense of a group of amateurs on rag paper in two hundred and fifty copies; sale to the public is strictly prohibited]. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 1649. Alfred de Musset (French, 1810 – 1857) – author.
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One of a series of six anti-allies propaganda cards, printed in colour, inscribed Ou le Tommy est-il resté? (Where did Tommy stay?), where Tommy is slang for a common soldier in the British Army. The postcards visibly depict French soldiers who fight and die at the western front, while the covert watermark image shows a British military having fun in a bordello. Those cards were printed in the Third Reich for France and dropped from aeroplanes to motivate French soldiers to fight against the British. Size: 149 x 104 mm
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Ten postcards 90 x 140 mm, text in yellow "ВСЕМIРНЫЙ ПОЧТОВЫЙ СОЮЗЪ. РОССIЯ. | UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE RUSSIE. | ОТКРЫТОЕ ПИСЬМО. — CARTE POSTALE. || On the reverse, a blue ink woodcut image is printed in the upper left corner, and a blue ink numbered image title is in the bottom centre. Holding the postcard against the backlight reveals a hidden image of an indecent nature (erotic). The use of Latin characters "R" and "N" instead of Russian "Р" and "Н" suggests that the cards were produced in Europe, probably in France. Inscriptions: 1. ПЕRВЫЕ ДNИ; 2. ПОRА ЛЮБВИ; 3. ВЪ ЛЮДИ; 4. КЪ "СВОБОДNОМУ ИСКУССТВУ"; 5. "СВОБОДNЫЙ ТRУДЪ; 6. БЕЗЪ ГОRЯ И ПЕЧАЛИ; 7. NАЗАДЪ КЪ "СВОБОДNОЙ ЛЮБВИ"; 8. ВСЕ ЧТО ОСТАЛОСЬ!; 9. БЕЗЪ КRОВА И ПRИСТАNИЩА; 10. ИЗЪ ЗА ХЛѢБА.
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Softcover, 257 x 168 mm, publisher’s cream French flapped wrappers with red lettering to front in a beige double slipcase, printed on wove paper watermarked “Marais” in italic script; edges untrimmed; pp.: [8] [2] [1] 2-130 [131] [3]; collated 4to as 184, 72 leaves incl. those in the wrappers, plus 9 photomechanical stencil-coloured plates extraneous to collation and 9 b/w headpieces (in-text etchings) after anonymous artist. According to the seller and J.-P. Dutel: “In-8 of 130 pages... Illustrated with 10 full-page in colour and some headbands. Limited edition of 500 copies on vélin du Marais". Title-page (red and black): GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE | LES | ONZE MILLE VERGES | OU | LES AMOURS D'UN HOSPODAR | BRUXELLES | 1942 || Limitation: Il a été tiré de cet ouvrage réservé uniquement aux souscripteurs particuliers 500 exemplaires tous sur vélin du marais. Exemplaire n° 147. Edition: The clandestine edition on vélin de Marais paper limited to 500 copies for subscribers only; this copy is № 147. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2109. In my copy, similarly to the one of STEVE M., it is only 9 colour plates, while Dutel sites 10. Author: Guillaume Apollinaire (French, 1880 – 1918). Micro photo of a colour plate:
Micro photo of an etching:
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Hand-coloured chromolithography on wove paper, 600 x 470 mm; black ink stamp “4921” to reverse, horizontal and vertical centrefolds. Image of Napoléon III on horseback, in a frame; lettering under the frame: 34 — Déposé | NAPOLÉON III | EMPEREUR DES FRANÇAIS. | Lith. de Gangel frères et P. Didion, à Metz. || Gangel frères et P. Didion (Metz) – printer/publisher. Paulin Didion (French, 1831 – 1879)
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 610 x 390 mm; black ink stamp “5207” to reverse, attached to a larger sheet of thick paper with a red ink stamp: “COLLECTION JEAN-CLAUD LACHNITT | REPRODUCTION INTERDIT”. Top: Baptême de S. A. le PRINCE IMPÉRIAL. 14 Juin 1856; image of baptism of Prince-Impérial; two-column text with a small loss in the lower left corner (C'est à cinq heures du soir que le cortège impérial quitta le Palais des Tuileries. De nombreux escadrons de cavalerie, musique en tête ouvraient la marche. ...); bottom under the text: "Fabrique d'Images de GANGEL, à Metz." — "49".
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 472 x 365 mm; black ink stamp “5275” to reverse. Top centre: "LE PRINCE IMPÉRIAL"; right: "№143." Image in the middle: Prince Impérial, with his father, conducts a review of the children's army "REVUE DES PUPILLES DE LA GARDE". Besides – five tiers of captioned cartoons. Bottom left: "Imp. lith. de Pellerin à Épinal"; right: Propriété de l’Éditeur. Déposé." Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 487 x 365 mm; black ink stamp “5056” to reverse. Top left: imperial coat of arms; centre: "FAMILLE IMPERIALE. GRANDS DIGNITAIRES DE L'EMPIRE, MAISON DE L'EMPEREUR."; right: "№144." Image of the imperial family under imperial eagle and standards; besides – four tiers of captioned cartoons. Bottom left: "Imprimerie Lith. de Pellerin, à Épinal"; right: "Propriété de l’Éditeur. — Déposé." Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 460 x 363 mm; black ink stamp “5054” to reverse. Four tiers with groups of people dressed in uniform, captioned: Bedeau — Suisse — Chanoines — Évêque — Porte croix — Évêque — Cardinal — Cardinal | Généraux français — Le prince Napoléon — L’Empereur et l’Impératrice — Marraine — Le Prince — Parrain | Meur l’Archevêque | Porte crosse Diacre servant | Préfet — Sénateur — Conseiller de cour — Président — Dames de la cour — Gral Piémontais — Chef arabe | Aide-de-camp de l’Empereur — Chambellan de l’Empereur — Ministre d’état — Ambassadeur de Turque | Ambassadeur d’Angleterre — Ambassadeur d’Autriche — Ambassadeur de Russie — Ambassadeur de Prusse — Gral anglaise — Lord anglais || Bottom left: Imprimerie Lith. de Pellerin, à Épinal; right: Propriété de l’Éditeur. — Déposé. Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.
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Hand-coloured woodcut poster on wove paper, 622 x 417 mm; black ink stamp “4859” to reverse, horizontal centrefold. In a double frame, top: LOUIS-NAPOLÉON BONAPARTE, | REPRÉSENTANT DU PEUPLE, | Président de la République française. Text under the image ; bottom left: (Déposé.— Propriété de l’Éditeur.); right: Fabrique de PELLERIN, Imprimeur-Libraire, à ÉPINAL. Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 366 x 460 mm; black ink stamp “5057” to reverse. Caption cartoon in 2 tiers. Top: OUVERTURE DE 'EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE DE 1855. CORTÈGE IMPÉRIAL. Captions top to bottom: Garde de Paris. — Les Cent Gardes. — Cuirassier. — Grenadiers. Middle: Voiture de sa Majesté Napoléon III. | Bottom: Grenadier. — Musique des Guides. — Piqueur de l’Empereur. — Gral Anglais — Généraux — Colonel de Cuirassiers | de la Garde — Généraux. Below left: Imprimerie Lith. de Pellerin, à Épinal; right: Propriété de l’Éditeur. Déposé. Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.
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Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 460 x 356 mm; black ink stamp “5055” to reverse. Top centre: "NAPOLÉON III ET LA GARDE IMPÉRIALE"; right: "№ 86". Napoléon III ahorseback in middle, beside (top to bottom): Escadron des cent Gardes — Cuirassiers 1er et 2me regiment; Gendarmes à cheval. — Lancier., Dragon de l’Impératrice.; Guide., Chasseur à cheval. — Artillerie à cheval, Train des équipages.; Gendarme. Génie. Voltigeur. Grenadier. Sapeur. Sapeur. Chasseur. Artillerie. Zouave. Tambour. Bottom left: Imprimerie Lith. de Pellerin à Épinal; right: Propriété de l’Éditeur. Déposé. Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.