-
![Adelbert von Chamisso. Peter Schlemihl's wundersame Geschichte. Nach des Dichters Tode neu herausgegeben von Julius Eduard Hitzig. Stereotypausgabe mit Holzschnitten. — Nürnberg: Johann Leonhard Schrag, [o.J.], [1839]. — XVI + 83 S.](https://varshavskycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LIB-1100.2016-b-scaled-500x500.jpeg)
Title page (in Gothic script): Peter Schlemihl's | wundersame Geschichte | mitgetheilt | von | Adelbert von Chamisso. | {vignette} | Nach des Dichters Tode neu herausgegeben | von Julius Eduard Hitzig. | Stereotypausgabe mit Holzschnitten. | Nürnberg, | Johann Leonhard Schrag. || Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xvi, [1] 2-82 [2], 15 woodcut vignettes by Unzelmann after Menzel. Collation: 8vo; π8 1-58 62. Binding: 21.5 x 13.5 cm, blind olive wrappers. Year of publication inferred from the foreword. This is the first posthumous edition of Chamisso's novel. Personae: Chamisso, Adelbert von (German, 1781 – 1838). — Author of the text. Hitzig, Julius Eduard [Itzig, Isaac Elias] (German-Jewish, 1780 – 1849). — Author of the foreword. Menzel, Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von (German, 1815 – 1905). — Artist of the vignettes. Unzelmann, Friedrich Ludwig (German, 1797 – 1854). — Engraver of the woodcuts. Schrag, Johann Leonhard (Germany, 1783 – 1858). — Publisher. -
![Auguste Vitu. Les réunions publiques à Paris 1868-1869. — Paris: E. Dentu, 1869. — pp.: [1-5] 6-151 [1].](https://varshavskycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LIB-2432.2020-a-500x500.jpeg)
Cover: LES | RÉUNIONS PUBLIQUES | A PARIS | 1868 — 1869 | PAR | AUGUSTE VITU | TROISIÈME ÉDITION | Augmentée d’un Appendice contenant les Jugements et Arrêts | rendus à Paris en matière de réunions publiques | PARIS | E. DENTU, LIBRAIRE-ÉDITEUR | PALAIS-ROYAL, 17-19, GALERIE D’ORLÉANS | MAI 1869 || ; t.p. similar with no dash between 17 and 19 in the bottom. Pagination: [1-5] 6-151 [1]; collation: 8vo, [1]8 2-98 103; 23 x 14 cm, publisher’s lettered blue paper wrappers. Printer: Dubuisson et Cie (Paris). Vitu, Auguste-Charles-Joseph (French, 1823 – 1891) -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – hori Take. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 232 x 300 mm. Title: Tamagiku [玉菜]. Series: Chronicles of Elegant Women [風雅女史傳] (Fūga joshiden). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Ansei 6 (1859). Other prints from the same series in this collection [SVJP-0216.2016] — Princess Sotoori:
SVJP-0400.2023 — Saiko:
Note by Elena Varshavsky:
Tamagiku [玉菜] (Japanese, 1702 – 1726) – Precious Chrysanthemum (translated also as Jade Chrysanthemum; one can say also Gem Chrysanthemum). She was a courtesan famous for her beauty, kind heart, and countless artistic accomplishments. She died young and was deeply grieved by the establishment of Nakamanji-ya (中万字屋) for which she worked, and beyond. Her memory was celebrated during the Bon festival of the commemoration of the dead, and lanterns were hung at the gallery of that establishment and other neighbouring ones to commemorate her and appease her soul. These lanterns are seen behind her. Kabuki plays were continuously dedicated to her, she figured in Edo period literature and was often portrayed on ukiyo-e prints. In many cases, she was shown with the lanterns associated with her. Those lanterns were called “Tamagiku Lanterns”.
Other depictions of Tamagiku:
Tamagiku (Ancient and modern women's biography) by Kunisada, 1859.
Courtesan Tamagiku by Kunichika.
Tamagiku of the Nakamanjiya, Inaki Shinnojō, and Nakamanjiya Yahei (looking through the window) by Kunisada.
Nakamanji-Ya Tamagiku by Kunisada
Sources: darumapedia; kajiipeta; kabuki21; crosseyedgallery.
Nakamanji-Ya Tamagiku by Kunisada, 1857
-
Cover: Ch. Virmaitre | LES | VIRTUOSES | DU | TROTTOIR | {publisher’s device} | PARIS | P. LEBIGRE-DUQUESNE, ÉDITEUR | 16, RUE HAUTEFEUILLE, 16 | 1868 || Title: Similar. Imprint: De Rouge Frères, Dunon et Fresné (Paris). Pagination: [1-7] 8-161 [162], [2] – table, [2] – advert., [14]; 90 leaves total; publisher’s cream wrappers with red lettering in double frame. Collation: 12mo in 6th; [1]-136, 1412. Charles Virmaître (French, 1835 – 1903). -
Title: LES | CURIOSITÉS DE PARIS | PAR | CH. VIRMAITRE | PRÉFACE DE M. XAVIER EYMA | PARIS | P. LEBIGRE-DUQUESNE, LIBRAIRE-ÉDITEUR | 16, RUE HAUTEFEUILLE, 16 | 1868 || Collation: 18mo, π6; 1-1918. Pagination: [2] – pictorial title by A. Gill, engr. Marchandeau / blank, [2] – t.p. / blank, [2] dedication to Émile de Girardin / blank, [vii] viii-xii – préface; [1] 2-360, bfl. Note: pp. 223/224 and XIX chapter’s f.t. unpaginated and loose, but collation is not interrupted. Other chapters f.t. paginated. Binding: hardcover, quarter brown buckram over marbled boards, flat spine, gilt fillets, gilt lettering over the black label. Contributors: Charles Virmaître (1835 – 1903) – text. Xavier Eyma (1816 – 1876) – text / preface. André Gill (French, 1840 – 1885) – artist / pictorial title. Marchandeau (French, fl. c. 1867) – engraver / pictorial title. -
Title : CHARLES VIRMAITRE | LA COMMUNE | A PARIS | 1871 | {cit. 5 lines Emile de Girardin} | PARIS | LIBRAIRIE INTERNATIONALE | A. LACROIX, VERBOECKHOVEN ET Ce, ÉDITEURS | 15 boulevart Montmartre et faubourg Montmartre, 13 | MÉME MAISON A BRUXELLES, A LEIPZIG ET A LIVOURNE | 1871 | DROITS DE TRADUCTION ET DE REPRODUCTION RÉSERVÉS || Pagination : [2] – h.t. / imprint., [2] – t.p. / blank, [2] – dedicatation to Thiers / blank, [2] – table / blank, [1], 2-280; [total 288 pages]. Collation: 18mo; π4 1-1318 1514. Binding: red quarter morocco over red buckram boards, raised bands, gilt lettering, gilt flower lozenges in compartments, marbled endpapers. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863); seal: Hori Take [彫竹]. Publisher: Iseya Magobei [伊勢屋孫兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1794 – 1868); seal: Hanmoto, Masu [板元, 益] (Marks 19-039 | 150d). Date-aratame seal: Ansei 2 (1855). Title: Time in Fukagawa, Iyo Province (Fukagawa Iyo setsu). Ref.: [LIB-3008.2022] Andreas Marks. Japanese woodblock prints: Artists, publishers and masterworks, 1680 – 1900. — Tuttle Publishing, 2010; p. 221. –> 1855 Kunisada. "Iyo Province-time at Fukagawa" (Fukagawa Iyo setsu). Fan print. Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto. -
Title page: PARIS | À TABLE | PAR | EUGÈNE BRIFFAULT. | Illustré par Bertall. | {vignette} | PARIS | PUBLIÉ PAR J. HETZEL, | RUE DE RICHELIEU, 76 — RUE DE MÉNARS, 10 | 1846 || Pagination : ffl, [2] – h.t. / imprim., [2] – wood-engraved pictorial t.p. bt Bertall, [2] – t.p. / blank, [i] ii-iv, 2] – f.t. / imprim., [1] 2-184, ffl; in-text woodcuts by Betrall. Collation: π6 1-462; size 8vo. Binding: brown quarter morocco over marbled boards, raised bands, gilt device in compartments and gilt lettering to spine. Matching marbled endpapers, previous owner’s bookplate to front pastedown. Bookplate: Motto: “LITTERÆ SCIENTIA & ARTES / AR (monogram), 7738 BELIURE TOFFIER – TOURS / L. D.” Contributors: Eugène Briffault (French, 1799 – 1854) – author of the text. Bertall [ Bertal; Charles Albert d'Arnoux (French, 1820 – 1882) – illustrator. Pierre-Jules Hetzel (French, 1814 – 1886) – publisher. Printer: Imprimerie Schneider et Langrand, rue d'Erfurth, 1 (Paris). Paper: La papeterie d’Essonne. -
Cover: LA | NOUVELLE PHÈDRE | ET | LE DIRECTEUR DE L'ODEON | PAR | PAGES (DU TARN) | PRIX : 50 CENTIMES | PARIS | GUSTAVE HAVARD, LIBRAIRE–ÉDITEUR | BOULEVARD SÉBASTOPOL (RIVE GAUCHE) et rue de la Harpe. | 1858 || Pagination: [1-3] 4-48. Collation: 8vp; [1]-38 (total 24 leaves) Binding: publisher’s wrappers. Printer: Imprimerie Bonaventure et Ducessois (Paris); Ducessois, Théodore (French, 1804 – after 1864.) Bonaventure, Jules-Frédéric (French, ca. 1816 – 1891) Pagès (du Tarn) (French, fl. 1838 – 1872) – known absolutely nothing. Other works: La France, ode (M. Papailhiau, 1840); Aux Électeurs ... du Tarn (Soupe, 1848) ; Les Funérailles de Napoléon, ode (Pilout, 1840) ; Mazagran, 4, 5 et 6 février 1840, chant héroïque (M. Papailhiau, 1840) ; Herminie, ou l'Amour et l'honneur, tragédie en 5 actes, en vers (Moquet, 1872) ; Lettre à S.E. le ministre de l'Intérieur sur la nouvelle Phèdre et le Théâtre français (Moquet, 1856), etc. There is also a humorous book by Antony de Menou, which does not contain anything of substance: Un contemporain: biographie de Pagès (du Tarn). — Paris: Masgana, 1857. Antony de Menou is an obscure figure in his own right. An article about him can be found at Les derniers bohêmes by Firmin Maillard (1833 – 1901) [LIB-2652.2021]. -
![The Betrothed. From the Italian of Alessandro Manzoni. — London: Richard Bentley (successor to Henry Colburn). Cumming, Dublin; Bell & Bradfute, Edinburgh; Galignani, Paris, 1834. — Series: Standard novels, № XLIII [43]. The Betrothed. Complete in one volume.](https://varshavskycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LIB-1332-g-scaled-500x500.jpg)
Half-title: STANDARD NOVELS. | № XLIII. | {6 lines of citation} | THE BETROTHED | COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. | LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY | (SUCCESSOR TO HENRY COLBURN) : | BELL & BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH; | CUMMING, DUBLIN. | 1834 || Illustrated title page: THE BETROTHED, | FROM THE ITALIAN | OF | ALESSANDRO MANZONI. | {vignette by S. Smith after F. Pickering} | LONDON: | RICHARD BENTLEY | (SUCCESSOR TO HENRY COLBURN.) | CUMMING, DUBLIN, – BELL & BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH, | GALIGNANI, PARIS. |1834. || Title page: THE | BETROTHED. | FROM THE ITALIAN | OF | ALESSANDRO MANZONI. | LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, 8 NEW BURLINGTON STREET | (SUCCESSOR TO HENRY COLBURN): | BELL & BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH; | AND CUMMING, DUBLIN. | 1834 || Frontispiece: vignette by S. Smith after F. Pickering. Pagination: [i-v] 6-xii, [1] 2-452 [2 blank] + 2 plates. Collation: [A]6 B-Z8 AA-FF8 GG2 + 2 leaves of plates; Note: A1, A2, A4, GG2 – unsigned; both frontispiece and illustrated title are extraneous to collation. Binding: 2/3 black calf over marbled boards, raised bands w/gilt elements, gilt lettering in compartments and gilt title on a crimson label to spine; contemporary, but not the original publisher's binding; size: 16.5 x 10.5 cm Bookplates: Yellow sticker to front pastedown “J. K. Higgins, Northampton” (unknown); Ex libris to the front flyleaf: “Hilda Moore” (probably Hilda Mary Moore (British, 1886 – 1929) – a British stage and film actress. Series: Bentley's Standard Novels, № 43, first series. Catalogue raisonné: Michael Sadleir (1951): p. 101. Original title: ALESSANDRO MANZONI : I PROMESSI SPOSI Contributors: Manzoni, Alessandro (Italian, 1785 – 1873) Pickering, Ferdinand (British, 1810 – 1889) – artist. Smith, Samuel S. (British, 1810 – 1879) – engraver. A. Spottiswoode (London); Spottiswoode, Andrew (British, 1787 – 1866) – printer. Bentley, Richard (British, 1794 – 1871) – publisher. For the Russian edition see [LIB-1333.2017]: Алессандро Манцони. Обрученные. Повесть из истории Милана XVII века / Перевод И. И. Шитца. (Итальянская литература). — М.-Л.: Academia, 1936. -
Sawamura Gennosuke II [沢村源之助] (Suketakaya Takasuke III, Sawamura Chōjūrō V, Sawamura Sōjūrō V, Sawamura Tosshō I, Sawamura Genpei I, Japanese, 1802/7 – 1853) as Ushiwakamaru [牛若丸], a.k.a. Minamoto no Yoshitsune [源 義経]. Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I, Japanese, 1791 – 1859) as Benkei, a.k.a. Saitō Musashibō Benkei [西塔武蔵坊弁慶] (Japanese, 1155 – 1189) Performance: Grand finale dance play [大切所作事] (ōgiri shosagoto) at Soga Festival - A Composite Piece of Musashi「曽我祭武蔵摂物 ごさいれいむさしのひきもの)」 (Gosairei Musashi no hikimono), performed at Kawarazakiza (河原崎座) in 05/1831 (See kabuki plays from 1831). Soga Festival (Soga Matsuri) is an annual theatre event in Edo (Tokyo). Scene: The Fight on Gojo Bridge or Benkei on the Bridge [橋弁慶] (Hashi Benkei). The story relates how Benkei, first a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue warrior, a man of Herculean strength, was subdued by the young Onzoshi Ushiwaka Maru (Yoshitsune) on Gojo Bridge. Benkei wandered around Kyoto with the intention of relieving 1000 samurai of their swords. One night, with one more sword to go, he saw Yoshitsune playing the flute and wearing a golden sword at the Gojotenjin Shrine. They agreed to fight on Gojo Bridge in southern Kyoto. However, Yoshitsune was too agile for Benkei and had been educated in the secrets of fighting by the tengu. Following Yoshitsune’s victory, Benkei became Yoshitsune’s retainer. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎]. Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Date-aratame seal: Tenpō 2 (1831). Size: Fan print (uchiwa-e). Ref.: (1) Tokyo Metropolitan Library, 請求記号 M339-6/東M339-006. (2) Ritsumeikan University, Art Research Center, Portal Database M339-006(02).
-
Two volumes uniformly bound by J. Mackenzie, in brown straight-grain morocco, boards with 7 gilt fillet border, fleuron corners, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, gilt-lettered DIBDIN’S | LITERARY | REMINISCENCES | I (or) II | 1836. All margins gilt, cream endpapers, armorial bookplate of William Henry Rossington to the front pastedown. Vol. 1: Title page: REMINISCENCES | OF | A LITERARY LIFE; | BY THE REVEREND | THOS. FROGNALL DIBDIN, D.D. | {vignette} | {one line citation | Richard de Bury} | LONDON: | JOHN MAJOR, 71, GREAT RUSSELL-STREET, | BLOOMSBURY. | MDCCCXXXVI. || Pagination: [4] two blank leaves, [i-v] vi-xxxii [4] list of plates, corrections, [1] 2-556 [4] two blank leaves. Collation: 8vo; [a]8 b8 [c]2, B-Z8, AA-MM8 NN6, 5 plates (incl. frontis. portrait by James Posselwhite after George Richmond) extraneous to collation, and a few vignettes in text. Vol. 2: Title page: REMINISCENCES | OF | A LITERARY LIFE; | WITH ANECDOTES OF BOOKS, | AND OF | BOOK COLLECTORS: | BY THE REVEREND | THOS. FROGNALL DIBDIN, D.D. | PART THE SECOND. | LONDON: | JOHN MAJOR, 71, GREAT RUSSELL-STREET, | BLOOMSBURY. | MDCCCXXXVI. || Pagination: [4] two blank leaves, [2] title/blank, 557-982, [1-3] 4-44 index, [4] two blank leaves. Collation: 8vo; [NN]2 OO-ZZ8 3A-3Q8 3R3, B-C8 D4, 5 plates (incl. frontis. “The Library, Eshton Hall”) extraneous to collation, and a few vignettes in text. Catalogue raisonné: Windle, Pippin (1999): A62 / pp. 171-177. Contributors: Author: Thomas Frognall Dibdin (British, 1776 – 1847) Artists: George Richmond (British, 1809 – 1896); Mary Dawson Turner [neé Mary Palgrave] (British, 1774 – 1850); Frederick Mackenzie (British, 1788? – 1854); C. J. Stewart (British, fl. 1830s). Copper engravers: James Posselwhite (British, 1798-1884); Philip Audinet (British, 1766 – 1837); William Henry Worthington. (British, c. 1790 – after 1839); Samuel Rawle (British, 1771 – 1860); Samuel Freeman (British, 1773 – 1857); James Thomson (British, 1788–1850). Wood engravings by John Byfield (British, 1788-1841) and his sister Mary Byfield (British, 1795 – 1871). Printer: William Wilcockson, Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane. Publisher: John Major (British, 1782 – 1849) Binder: John Mackenzie (British, 1788 – c.1850) – held the office of bookbinder to both King George IV and King William IV. Bookplate: Colonel William Henry Rossington (American, 1848 – 1908) -
A woodcut illustration after drawing by Leo von Elliot, published at Illustrirte Zeitung, 17 January 1863. English translation: Student bar "The Hole" in Brussels.
The official name of this bar, located at Rue des Sols in Bussels, was "À la vue de l'Université" (In sight of the University). This was the place where the students of the Université libre de Bruxelles (Free University of Brussels), and especially the members of Société, ou Cercle, des Crocodiles (The Crocodile Society, or Circle), gathered in the 1860s. -
Engraved title: HEATH'S | PICTURESQUE ANNUAL, | FOR 1836. | St. Petersburg and Moscow. | {vignette Nikolskoi church signed: A.G. Vickers — E. Radclyffe} | Tower of the Nikolskoi church St. Petersburg | From Drawings by | ALFRED GEORGE VICKERS, ESQ. | Printed by Arnold & Fisher | LONDON, PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, BY LONGMAN & Co. PATERNOSTER ROW: | RITTNER & Co. PARIS: & ASHER, BERLIN. || Title page: A JOURNEY | TO ST. PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW | THROUGH COURLAND AND LIVONIA. | BY | LEITCH RITCHIE, Esq. | AUTHOR OF “TURNER’S ANNUAL TOUR”, “SCHINDERHANNES,” &c. | WITH TWENTY-FIVE SPLENDID ENGRAVINGS, | BY THE FIRST ARTISTS, AFTER DRAWINGS, | BY A.G. VICKERS, Esq. | LONDON: | LONGMAN, REES, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN. | PARIS: RITTNER AND GOUPILL. BERLIN: A. ASHER. | 1836. || Imprint: LONDON: | PRINTED BY J. HADDON AND CO., DOCTORS’ COMMONS. Pagination: [i-iii] iv [4] [1] 2-256, total 264 pages + 25 plates. Collation: 12mo; π4, B-Y6 Z2; total 132 leaves + frontispiece, engraved title and 23 leaves of steel-engraved plates w/tissue guards, extraneous to collation. Binding: full red morocco, blind-stamped boards, gilt-lettered spine, all edges gilt, 12mo, 20 x 13 cm. Note: Schinderhannes – real name Johannes Bückler (German, c.1778 – 1803): Leitch Ritchie. Schinderhannes: the Robber of the Rhine. (Library of Romance). — London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1833. Contributors:Author: Leitch Ritchie (British, 1800 – 1865).
Illustrator: Alfred Gomersal Vickers (British, 1810 – 1837).
Publisher: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman (London).
Engravers: Turnbull, Thomas (British, fl. 1830s); Radclyffe, Edward (British, 1810 – 1863); Jorden, Henry (British, fl. 1829 – 1838); Fisher, Samuel (British, 1806 – 1851); Willmore, James Tibbits (British, 1800 – 1863); Higham, Thomas (British, 1795 – 1844); Appleton, J. W. (British, fl. 1834 – 1843); Wallis, Robert William (British, 1794 – 1878); Chevalier, William (British, 1804 – 1866); Kernot, James Harfield (British, 1802 – 1858); Lewis, James (British, 1782 – 1858); Carter, James (British, 1798 – 1855). Printer: John Haddon & Co. (London). Reference: Metropolitan Museum (NY); Royal Collection Trust (London). -
Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小島屋重兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1797 – 1869); seal: Marks #264, p. 210) Signed: Gyokuransai Sadahide ga [玉蘭斎貞秀 画]. Date seal: 1830 (Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1). Size: Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e); 229 x 292 mm -
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 yellow double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 13 – Tenpō 1 (1830). Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [二代目中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Play: Yoshitsune’s Letter at Koshigoe [義経腰越状] (Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo). Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 団 扇 絵), 229 x 267 mm, depicting kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan [中村芝翫] as Gotobei [五斗兵衛]. Nakamura Utaemon IV held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 1st lunar month of 1836. He was born as Hirano Kichitarō in Edo in 1796. Another fan print with the same subject in this collection [SVJP-0344.2021]:
"...The play Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was originally written for the puppet theatre (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in the 7th lunar month of 1754 in Ôsaka at the Toyotakeza. It was a revision of two early plays, Namiki Sōsuke's Nanbantetsu Gotō no Menuki (1735) and Yoshitsune Shin Fukumijō (1744). The title, which suggested that the play focused on Minamoto no Yoshitsune, was in fact dealing with the siege of the Ōsaka Castle, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu to destroy the Toyotomi clan in 1614 and 1615. This play was quickly forbidden because of the 4th act in which Gotobei's wife fired a gun at Yoritomo (this was of course interpreted as an attack on the Shogunate). Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was revised in 1770 by Toyotake Ōritsu, who completely rewrote the 4th act for a puppet production at the Kitahorieza in Ōsaka". Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was staged for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza on the 9th lunar month of 1790, and is still performed.
Gotobei [五斗兵衛] (Gotohei or Gotobē), one of Yoshitsune’s loyal retainers, is forced to choose between his son’s life or his loyalty to Yoshitsune. Nishikidō brothers, who do not want Gotobei to become Yoshitsune's chief strategist, forced him to drink sake and get asleep. To prove Gotobei's military abilities, Izumi no Saburō fires a gun next to Gotobei's ear, and "he jumps up immediately, in full possession of his senses, ready to repulse any enemy". See: [LIB-1193.2013] Samuel L. Leiter. Kabuki Encyclopedia: An English-language adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. — Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1979; pp. 266-7).
Ref: [LIB-2993.2022] Fig. 24 in Israel Goldman. Japanese prints and paintings / 40th anniversary; Catalogue 27, 2021.
Two more Kunisada's fan prints (in Paul Griffith's collection), depicting the same actor Nakamura Shikan II as Toneri Matsuōmaru [舎人松王丸] were published in 1832 by Iseya Ichiemon. The play was Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy [菅原伝授手習鑑] (Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). See: [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty / Introduction by Sebastian Izzard, contributions by Paul Griffith and Henk. J. Herwig. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, ©2016.
-
Vol. 1 : Title : LES | RUES DE PARIS | PARIS ANCIEN ET MODERNE | ORIGINES, HISTOIRE | MONUMENTS, COSTUMES, MŒURS, CHRONIQUES ET TRADITIONS | OUVRAGE | RÉDIGÉ PAR L’ÉLITE DE LA LITTÉRATURE CONTEMPORAINE | SOUS LA DIRECTION DE | LOUIS LURINE | et illustré de 300 dessins exécutés par les artistes les plus distingués | TOME PREMIER | { publisher’s device «G.K.» in vignette} | PARIS | G. KUGELMANN, ÉDITEUR, 25 RUE JACOB | 1844 || Pagination: [4] [1] 2-396 [4], total number of pages 404, plus 21 wood-engraved plates, incl. frontispiece, extraneous to collation. Collation: 4to; π2 [1]4 2-504, total number of leaves 202, plus 21 leaves of plates. Vol. 2: Title: Same, “TOME SECOND”. Pagination: [4] [1] 2-411 [412] [4], total number of pages 420, plus 22 wood engraved plates, incl. frontispiece, extraneous to collation. Collation: 4to; π2, 1-524, total number of leaves 210, plus 22 leaves of plates. Binding: 27 x 17 cm, two volumes uniformly bound by the publisher in brown cloth, blind-stamped frame and gilt design (corners, coat of arms of Paris, lettering) to boards and spine, yellow endpapers. CONTRIBUTORS: Printer: Alfred Wittersheim (French, 1825 – 1881) Publisher: Georges Kugelmann (French, 1809 – 1882) Editor/Compiler: Louis Lurine (French, 1816 – 1860) Texts by: Briffault, Eugène (French, 1799 – 1854); Janin, Jules Gabriel (French, 1804 – 1874); Huart, Louis Adrien (French, 1813 – 1865); Burette, Théodose (French, 1804 – 1847); Beauvoir, Roger de (French, 1806 – 1866); Brot, Charles Alphonse (French, 1807 – 1895); Le Roux de Lincy, Antoine (French, 1806 – 1869); Achard, Louis Amédée Eugène (French, 1814 – 1875). Illustrated book, profusely illustrated with over 300 woodcuts by: Artists: Daumier, Honoré (French, 1808 – 1879); Gavarni , Paul [Chevalier, Hippolyte Guillaume Sulpice] (French, 1804 – 1866); Nanteuil, Célestin François (French, 1813 – 1873); Baron, Henri (French, 1816 – 1885); Beaumont, Édouard de (French, 1821 – 1888); David, Jules (French, 1808 – 1892); Marckl, Louis (French, b. 1807); Schlesinger, Heinrich [Henri-Guillaume] (German-French, 1814 – 1893); Collignon, François Jules (French, d. 1850); Godefroy, Félix (French, 1765 – 1848); Lemercier, Charles Nicolas (French, 1797 – 1859); Loutrel, Victor Jean-Baptiste (French, 1821 – 1908); May, Edouard (French, c. 1807 – 1881); Moraine, Louis-Pierre René de (French, 1816 – 1864); Moynet, Jean Pierre (French, 1819 – 1876); Rossigneux, Charles (French, 1818 – 1907). Engravers: Bara, J. (French, b. c. 1812); Brugnot (French, fl.c. 1834 – 1873); Castan, André (French, 19th century); Budziłowicz, Ignacy (Polish-French, 1805 – 1863); Chevauchet (French, fl. 1837 – 1850); Pégard (French, 19th century); Czechowicz, A. (Polish-French, fl. 1840 – 1850); Debraine, T. Etienne (French, 19th century); Deschamps, M. (French, 19th century); Fauchery, Jean-Claude Auguste (French, 1798 – 1843); Ghouy, de (French, fl. mid-19th century); Montigneul, Émile (French, fl. 1840 – 1850); Joret, J. (French, 19th century); Fity, A. (French, 19th century); Guillaumot, Eugène (French, 1813 – 1869); Halley-Hiback (French, 19th century); Lacoste père et fils (French, fl. 1830s – 1860s); Lenepveu (French, 19th century); Lesestre, Jean Théophile Gustave (French, 1815 – 1873); Pannemaker, Adolphe François (Belgian-French, 1822 – 1900); Piaud, Antoine Alphée (French, 1813 – 1867); Pisan, Héliodore Joseph (French, 1822 – 1890); Pollet A. (French, 1840 – 1860); Pouget, Jean-Achille (French, fl. 1844 – 1877); Porret, Henri Désiré (French, 1800 – 1867); Pontenier, Auguste [Etienne, François] (French, 1820 – 1888); Rose, Alphonse Antoine (French, fl. 1840 – 1860); Timms, J. (English-French, fl. c. 1839 – 1865); Verdeil, Pierre (French, 1812 – 1874); Vien, Alphonse Jean-Baptiste (French, b. 1814). -
An uncut fan print shows a young woman holding a basket on a landscape background with hills and pines under a rising sun. Haruo Shirane: "Under the luni-solar calendar, the New Year coincided with the beginning of spring, making it the most important observance of the year for the aristocracy. In the Heian period, New Year ceremonies extended from New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu) to the Day of the Rat (Nenohi), which usually fell on the seventh day of the First Month, when courtiers went out to the fields (no), pulled up small pines, and gathered new herbs (wakana) as a prayer for long life. This ritual gradually spread to the provinces and to commoners, eventually resulting in the New Year practice of the gate pine (kadomatsu), in which a pair of small pines was placed at the gate of a house. A popular Heian-period painting topic representing the First Month was “prayers on the Day of the Rat” (Nenohi no asobi), which depicted the auspicious scene of pulling up small pines in a spring field. Both young herbs and gathering young herbs, particularly at Kasuga Field, became major poetic topics for the First Month, appearing in both the spring and celebration (ga) books of the Kokinshū (Collection of Japanese Poems Old and New, ca. 905). By the Kamakura period, the observance of the Day of the Rat had been abandoned at the imperial court, but the custom of gathering and eating young greens continued as the annual ceremony known as the Seven Grasses (Nanakusa). Note: The Heian-period ritual of pulling up the roots of small pines (komatsu ) on the first Day of the Rat derives from the homonyms ne (rat) and ne (root). Pulling up roots was auspicious, since it implied lengthening the year. The rising sun (hinode) was considered an auspicious sight, particularly at the beginning of the year". [Haruo Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons. Nature, Literature, and the Arts. — Columbia University, NY, 2012]. Title: Gathering of the young herbs on the Day of the Rat [子の日乃若菜] (Nenohi no wakana). Series: Three elegant sources of light [風流三光の内] (fūryū sankō no uchi); meaning the sun, the moon and the stars). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher’s seal: Izuzen (Marks: seal 06-029 | U103b) Date and double nanushi censor seals: Mera and Watanabe, Kaei 6 (1853). A similar theme can be found in Kunisadai's triptych published in about 1844 (HARA SHOBO):
豊国三代「豊歳子日若菜摘ノ図」
