/Collection
  • Two volumes, 168 x 106 mm each, uniformly bound in faux mottled calf ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers. Vol. 1: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, both printed on laid paper watermarked “ARCHES A LA | MAIN”; ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: [1] 2-115 [116 blank], 3 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-I6 K4; total 60 leaves plus 16 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Vol. 2: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, no watermark, ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: 1-77 [78 blank], 2 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-F6 G3; total 41 leaves plus 24 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Dutel (I): A-1089, p. 325: in-8 (probably by size only, no formula suggested), pagination 115 and 77 as here, 2 frontispieces, 2 engraved titles dated 1873, “et 36 belles gravures de Binet”. Cohen-DeRicci: p. 734 bottom: in-12, no pagination, no formula. "Thérèse" was offered by a French seller user-75d14f4 on the online auction platform CATAWIKI in December 2021. The seller's description of this two-volume set was: "Re-edition, the date of which I was unable to determine. (London, no name, 1782) 2 duodecimo volumes of 115 and 77 pp., very lovely marbled sheepskin pastiche bindings, gilded triple fillets, adorned spines, black title labels. This classic of 18th-century clandestine erotica was written in 1748 by an author who has remained anonymous, attributed at the time to Montigny, which led to his internment in the Bastille. It is now attributed to the Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens. Edition illustrated with 37 very unrestrained figures, engraved in intaglio after Borel, unsigned." I should have paid more attention to the first phase, about the re-edition, but I didn't. After a few bidding rounds, I won the book when the hammer price was 2,200 Euros. On the 28th of December, 2021, I paid for this little beauty $2,760. The book arrived a few days later.  The paper's quality and texture, the watermark, the absence of the platemark, and the lack of embossing on the back (text and plates) made me suspect it was a fake. The pages were absolutely flat to the touch!  I established clear evidence of a high-resolution 'xerox' copy using Celestron Micro Capture Pro micro-photography.  I wrote to the seller and the auction platform, explaining my doubts regarding its authenticity. To prove my point, I include a few micro photos of the "Thérèse" and some books printed at the end of the 18th century. I explained why I considered it a fake and requested a return/refund. After two months of email exchanges, the seller and the platform refused to pay me back. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the purchase. I still have the book. To celebrate my carelessness, I included it in my library to warn fellow book collectors about buying from an unknown dealer via certain online auction platforms. Ref.: Bamber Gascoigne. How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink. — Thames and Hudson, 1995.

    Thérèse philosophe, 1783.

    Late 18th century books

    Books used for comparison: [LIB-2743.2021] Restif de la Bretonne. Les parisiennes, ou XL caractères généraux pris dans les mœurs actuelles, propres à servir à l’instruction des personnes-du-sexe / 4 vol. — Neufchâtel, et Paris: Guillot, 1787. [LIB-3027.2022] [Héliodore d’Emèse]. Amours de Théagènes et Chariclée: Histoire Éthiopique / 2 vol. — Londres [i.e. Paris]: [s.n.], 1743. [LIB-3252.2023] [Nicolas Chorier.] Le Meursius françois, ou entretiens galans d’Aloysia, orné de figures. — Cythere [i.e. Paris: Cazin], 1782. Below is a Xerox copy for comparison.    
  • Copper tsuba of slightly elongated round form carved in low relief (usuniku-bori, katakiri bori) with the design of a mythical creature: a horse, however, with divided hoofs, with anthropomorphic (human-like) face though with a vertically positioned third eye on the forehead, and a corn. Certain elements of the image accentuated with gold iroe. On the back: flowers and grasses carved in katakiribori technique. Shakudō fukurin.

    Edo period.

    Dimensions: 70.7 x 70.2 x 3.7 mm In a custom wooden box.
  • A copper tsuba with ishime-ji ground carved and polished (migaki-ji) with sitting Daruma; his eyes are inlaid with shakudo and he has a golden earring. The reverse carved with four characters: 廓 然 無 性 (Kakunen-mushō). It is a Zen proverb that goes back to Bodhidharma (Daruma), meaning "boundless expanse and nothing that can be called holy." [Markus Sesko translation]. Shakudo fukurin.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period (circa 1800). Dimensions: 68.2 x 65.5 x 4.8 (center) x 3.2 (rim) mm
  • Copper tsuba of slightly elongated round form carved in low relief (shishiaibori and sukisagebori) and inlaid in gold, silver and shakudō with the design of dreaming Rosei (Lu Sheng): he is half-sitting by the pillow with his eyes closed, holding his fan, with a scroll by his feet, surrounded by flying butterflies.

    Edo period, first half of the 18th century.

    Dimensions: 70.8 x 67.1 x 5.0 mm. Signed on the reverse: Jōi (乗 意) + Kaō. Sugiura Jōi [杉 浦 乗 意] (1701-1761) was a master of Nara School in Edo; he was a student of Toshinaga [M. Sesko, ‘Genealogies’, p. 32]. “Sugiura Jōi (1701-1761) made many fuchigashira and kozuka, tsuba are rather rare.” [M. Sesko, The Japanese toso-kinko Schools, pp. 148-149]. On Rosei (Lu Sheng) dream's legend see Legend in Japanese Art by Henri L. Joly (1908 edition) on page 293.
  • Iron tsuba of ryō-mokko-gata form decorated with a spotted deer (Nara deer or sika deer) motif in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori) and flat silver inlay (hara-zōgan); deer's eyes and details in gold inlay. Signed on a copper cartouche: Noriyuki. Grass in low relief carving on the reverse. There were two Noriyuki in Hamano school - father (Noriyuki I, 1736-1787) and son (Noriyuki II, 1771-1852). Frankly speaking, I don't know which one made this particular piece. Edo period, late 18th or early 19th century.

    Size: 71.5 x 70.0 x 3.0 mm.

       
  • An iron tsuba of slightly vertically elongated circular form carved and pierced with a mass of ivy (tsuta) leaves and tendrils, details damascened with gold in nunome-zōgan technique. Hitsu-ana with raised rim.

    Unsigned.

    Chōshū school.

    Height: 72.0 mm; width: 69.0 mm; thickness: 4.7 mm; Weight: 92 g.

    According to John W. Dower, "ivy bears fairly close resemblance to both maple leaf and grape leaf". However, I consider this tsuba decorated with ivy leaves for several reasons, such as the lack of racemations in the presence of tendrils.
  • An iron tsuba of oval form decorated with a water plantain (omodaka) carved in low relief and water drops inlaid in gold.

    Signed: Bushū jū Masamitsu.

    Bushū-Itō school.

    Height: 71.8; Width: 67.3; Thickness: 3.6; Weight: 96 g.

    Mid to late Edo period; 18th-19th century.

    There were several tsuba artists with the name of Masamitsu. The one who worked with iron and spelled [正光] is mentioned at Markus Sesko's 'Genealogies' on page 106 in Akasaka School of Edo section as Masamitsu Gorōbei , student of Tadatoki, 4th generation Akasaka master. The name is not mentioned at Torigoye/Haynes 'Tsuba. An Aesthetic Study' in the list of Bushū-Itō family masters on page 181.
  • Iron tsuba of oval form carved with a landscape motif. Kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with shakudo. Sekigane of copper.

    Signed: Chōshū Hagi-jū Tomohisa saku (長州萩住友久作).

    Tomohisa, adopted son of Rokurō'emon, was 3rd generation master of Kawaji School from Hagi in Nagato (Chōshū), lived 1687-1743 [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 117].

    Edo period, circa 1700. Dimensions: 71.1 x 66.8 x 2.9 mm For his adopted son Hisatsugu work see TSU-0103 in this collection.  
  • Iron tsuba pierced and carved (marubori-sukashi) with the 'horse in the round' design. Possibly, Bushū-Ito school, 19th century (ca. 1800). Kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with shakudō.

    Size: 67.6 x 66.8 x 5.1 mm

    Unsigned.

    See:

      1. Robert E. Haynes. Study Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings. Nihon Art Publishers, 2010, p. 120: Iron plate carved and formed in the round as a tethered bull...Signed: Bushū jū Sadayasu saku.
      2. Robert E. Haynes. Masterpiece and highly important tsuba, etc... San Francisco, 1984 // Catalog #9.: Signed: Bushū jū Yoshifusa. Ca. 1800, H 6.7 cm, Th. 4.75 mm.
      3. The Hartman collection of Japanese metalwork. Christie's, 1976, p. 29, №59: Bushū type, 19th century. Reference to Takezawa, Nihon Toban Zuetsu №411 for a similar design signed Bushū Yoshifusa.

    Hartman collection, №59. 

    4. Japanese Sword Fittings from the R. B. Caldwell Collection. Sale LN4188 "HIGO". Sotheby's, 30th March 1994, p. 17, №24: An iron tsuba, by Heianjo Sadatsune, Edo period (18th century). In the form of a horse, standing with its head lowered and a rope halter attached to its bit and trailing beneath. Signed Heianjo Sadatsune, 7.3 cm. With NBTHK Tokubetsu kicho paper, dated Showa 49 (1974). GBP 600-700.

    The Caldwell Collection. Heianjo Sadatsune, Edo period (18th century).

     
  • Iron tsuba of mokkō-form with a pine and a frog on the face and a snail on the back, carved and inlaid with gold. Each figurative element of the design is signed on three inlaid cartouches: Masaharu (正春), Kazuyuki (一之), and Yoshikazu (良一) [read by Markus Sesko]. Snake, snail, and frog together make a design called "SANSUKUMI" - Three Cringing Ones [Merrily Baird]. The snail can poison the snake, the frog eats the snail, and the snake eats the frog. It's unclear whether the pine replaces the snake on this tsuba, or the snake is hiding in the pine? Anyway, the frog and the snail are clearly represented. "Maybe we have here a joint work with Masaharu (the silver cartouche next to the pine) being the master and making the plate and Kazuyuki and Yoshikazu as his students carving out the frog and the snail respectively". Copper sekigane.

    Dimensions: 70.9 x 67.2 x 3.0 mm. Edo period (18th century).

    Markus Sesko writes: "I agree, the frog and the snail most likely allude to the san-sukumi motif. It is possible that we have here an artist's choice to deliberately leave out the snake, maybe he thought that the motif is already obvious and there is no need to add a snake to make it clear that the tsuba shows the san-sukumi motif." [Markus Sesko].

    Kazuyuki (一之): adopted son of Kumagai Yoshiyuki, student of Ichijō (Gotō-Ichijō Scool) [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 19.] Masaharu (正春): Kasuya fam., student of Masamichi (1707-1757) who was the 4th generation Nomura School master in Edo. [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 49.]
  • Iron tsuba of circular form with a branch of loquat (biwa) pierced in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi) and carved in marubori technique (marubori-sukashi). Kozuka and kogai hitsu-ana are plugged with shakudo.

    Signature: Choshu Kawaji ju Hisatsugu saku. Chōshū school in Nagato province.

    According to M. Sesko 'Genealogies' Hisatsugu was a 4th generation Kawaji School master from Chōshū (present day Nagato), with the name Gonbei, formerly Toramatsu, adopted son of Tomohisa (1687-1743) [page 117]. For Tomohisa work see TSU-0104 in this collection.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with the design of distant pines, torii, and crescent moon in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane.

    Size: 84.9 x 84.8 x 5.8 mm.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period, ca. 1750.

    Tosa Myochin or Akasaka school.

    Japanese Swords and Sword Fittings from the Collection of Dr. Walter Ames Compton (Part I). Christie's, New York, March 31, 1992, pp. 28-29, № 53:

    "A Tosa Myochin School Tsuba. Edo period (circa 1750), signed Toshu ju Kuniyoshi saku. The round iron plate pierced with a design of a temple gate (torii) and a pine tree. It has a round rim and there are some carved details on the surface of the design. The Tosa Myochin school, despite its foundation in the classic Myochin armor school tradition, worked mainly in the style of Akasaka school of Edo. [...] Many are equal to the mid to later Akasaka school work and the two types have frequently been confused. Signed examples are rare. Estimated price $1,500-2,000."

    Compton Collection, Vol. 1, №53

  • Large oval form tsuba decorated with two human figures (scholar and attendant) under the pine tree admiring a view of a waterfall on the face of the plate, and with stylized dragons carved on the reverse among the symbols of thunder inlaid in gold. The plate is carved in low relief with details inlaid with gold and silver.

    Signed: Yamashiro no kuni Fushimi no ju Kaneie [Kaneie of Fushimi in Yamashiro Province] [山城國伏見住金家], with Kaō. It is a fake signature (gimei).

    Size: Height: 91.9 mm; Width: 85.6 mm; Thickness: 3.4 mm; Weight: 169 g.

    This is a late Edo period, 19th-century export work to cater to the tastes of the European tsuba collectors. It does not have anything in common with the work of great Kaneie masters.

    SOLD
  • Silver Kozuka carved in kebori ("hair carving") with a ukiyo-e style half-length figure of a beautiful woman (possibly a courtesan) dressed in a splendid kimono and hair ornament (kanzashi). Signed on the back: Koreyasu/Zetai + kaō (是休「花押」)  - transcribed by Markus Sesko. Size: 96.8 mm (H) x 14.9 mm (W). Edo period, early 19th century. I managed so far to find the only mention of Koreyasu at Japanese sword-mounts. A descriptive catalogue of the collection of J. C. Hawkshaw, Esq., M.A., of Hollycombe, Liphook. Complied and illustrated by Henri L. Joly. London, 1910 [LIB-1439 in this collection], page 204: 2623. — F./v., nigurome, chased in relief and inlaid with Omori Hikoshichi (large faces). Signed : Koreyasu of Yedo. xix. 2624. — F.K., nigurome, chased and inlaid in relief with Omori Hikoshichi and the witch. Signed : Shinriusha Koreyasu. No pictures of items or signature provided.
  • Sentoku tsuba of oval form with Sennin (Chinese immortal) motif carved in low relief (katakiribori). The Sennin is depicted with a double gourd in his right hand and a child beside his left hip. A pine tree carved on the reverse.

    Signed: Sōmin saku (宗眠作) [M.Sesko]. Yokoya School (see The Japanese toso-kinko Schools by Markus Sesko, pp. 133-8).

    Edo period (second half of the 18th century). Dimensions: Height: 61.6 mm; Width: 56.4 mm; Thickness: 4.2 mm; Weight: 85 g.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of keys to the storehouse of the gods in openwork (sukashi). Rounded rim. Copper sekigane.

    Unsigned. Early Edo period, 17th century.

    Size: 71.0 x 70.9 x 6.0 mm.

    Merrily Baird, Symbols..: The Key to the Storehouse of the Gods, one of the Myriad Treasures.

  • Iron tsuba of oval form pierced with design of slanting rays of light (shakoh), a Christian motif (Jesuit’s IHS symbol), and a pair of tassels in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi). Details on tassels carved in low relief. Traditional description of this kind of design is called “tokei”, or “clock gear”. Rounded rim.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period, 17th or 18th century. Possibly - Owari school.

    Size: 76.0 x 73.0 x 6.2 mm.
  • КУПИТЬ КНИГУ

    "Разговоры Макиавелли и Монтескье в царстве мертвых” (Dialogue aux Enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu) – это политический памфлет, направленный против Наполена III. В 25 диалогах представитель эпохи Просвещения благородный барон де Монтескье отстаивает позиции умеренного правления и соблюдения прав личности, а флорентийский политик Средневековья злокозненный Макиавелли берется доказать своему собеседнику, что управлять людьми можно только силой и хитростью, и что деспотия — это потребность современного общества. Собеседники заключают пари. Макиавелли шаг за шагом описывает те действия, которые предпринял Наполеон III для установления деспотии во Франции, и выигрывает пари.

    В начале XX века «Разговоры» Жоли были использованы в царской России для изготовления антисемитской фальшивки — печально знаменитых «Протоколов сионских мудрецов», книги, переведенной на все языки мира и своими тиражами уступающей только Библии. Плагиат был разоблачен корреспондентом газеты «Таймс» Филипом Грейвсом в 1921 г. Сравнением текстов “Разговоров” и “Протоколов”, равно как и поиском автора плагиата, занималось не одно поколение исследователей.
    В наше время о “Разговорах” знают в основном благодаря “Протоколам”, но книга Жоли представляет интерес отнюдь не только в связи с означенными “Протоколами”. Единственный до сих пор перевод “Разговоров” на русский язык был выпущен в 2004 году издательством “МК-Трейд” под названием “Диалог в аду между Макиавелли и Монтескье”. Это был перевод с немецкого перевода с французского языка. Предлагаемое читателю новое издание книги Жоли является переводом с французского оригинала, хотя и достаточно вольным, что отражено в заголовке: Разговоры Макиавелли и Монтескье в царстве мертвых, записанные злосчастным французом Морисом Жоли в правление императора Людовика-Наполеона и пересказанные полтора века спустя для русского читателя нашим современником. Морис Жоли писал о “политике макиавеллизма в XIX веке”. Однако теперь очевидно, что и в XXI веке политика макиавеллизма не претерпела существенных изменений. Старинный рецепт установления деспотии “в одной, отдельно взятой стране” хорош и по сей день.

    Published in San Francisco, California.

    Paperback, size: 110 x 148 x 10 mm

    КУПИТЬ КНИГУ

  • HUMAN PHYSIOGNOMY | EXPLAIN'D: | IN THE | Crounian LECTURES | ON MUSCULAR MOTION. | For the Year MDCCXLVI. | Read before the | ROYAL SOCIETY: | By James Parsons, M.D. and F.R.S. | Being a SUPPLEMENT to the Philosophical | Transactions for that Year. | {Citation in the Greek from Aristotle, 6 lines} | LONDON: | Printed for C. Davis, over against Gray's Inn Gate | in Holbourn; Printer to the Royal Society. | M. DCC. XLVII. || Pagination: [4] i-viii [8] 1-82 [4]; collation: 4to; [a]4 b4 c2 <inset> B-L4 M3, wanting 1 leaf with An Index For the Lectures of the Years 1744, and 1745; Inset: 5 folding plates engraved by J. Mynde after J. Parsons ('I. Ps. MD del.'). Page 22.5 x 16.5 cm; plates 22.5 x 34 cm. Printed on laid paper, with tall "s". Binding: 23 x 17 cm, modern hardcover in marbled paper, modern endpapers, white paper label with black lettering to spine. Crounian Lectures (i.e. Croonian Lectures), named after William Croone (British, 1633 – 1684). Contributors: James Parsons (British, 1705 – 1770). James Mynde (British, 1702 – 1771). Davis, Printer to the Royal Society of London (British, 1665 – 1775). Ref.: Royal Academy, The Royal Society, Wellcome Collection.
  • Hardcover in blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket, 25.5 x 19.5 cm, pp.: [1-4] 5-452, +12 colour plates; 576 b/w plates within the pagination.
  • 50 issues (full 1920 year) of the French anti-Semitic journal La Vieille France published by Urbain Gohier in Paris from 1916 to 1924. LIB-LIB-2731-1.2021 to LIB-2731-50.2021.
  • Frontispiece: ИНОСТРАННЫЕ МЕМУАРЫ Под общей редакцией | И. Т. Смилги | ОММЕР ДЕ ГЕЛЛЬ | «Academia» | Москва—Ленинград || Title page: ОММЕР ДЕ ГЕЛЛЬ | ПИСЬМА и ЗАПИСКИ | Редакция, вступительная статья и примечания| М. М. Чистяковой | ACADEMIA | 1933 || Title verso: Супер-обложка и переплет | по рисункам Н. П. Дмитревского || Pagination: [1-6] 7-464 [8], ill. Collation: 8vo; [1]-298, 304 + 8 plates (photomechanical), one of them folded. Binding: 17.5 x 13.5 cm, original purple cloth, white lettering to spine, vignette to front board, pictorial DJ. Print run: 5300 copies. Catalogue raisonné: Крылов-Кичатова (2004): № 564, p.236. Вяземский, Павел Петрович (Russian, 1820 – 1888) – author. A famous literary forgery and mystification in the history of Russian literature. The fictitious author – Оммер де Гелль – was an existing human being: Adèle Hommaire de Hell, née Hériot (French, 1819 — 1883), a French writier. The fictitious matter of the book was not proven before 1935. The details can be found here.
  • Christie's Auction Catalog; Sale WALTER-15785; New York, September 26-27, 2017; Publisher's pictorial wrappers, front cover: THE COLLECTION OF | PAUL F. WALTER | NEW YORK 26–27 SEPTEMBER 2917 | {profile chest portrait of Paul F. Walter} | CHRISTIE'S || 26.8 x 21.2 x 3 cm; 662 lots, illustrations in colour and b/w, pictorial dust jacket; pp: [2] 3-462.

    Paul F. Walter (American, 1935 – 2017) – "Collector. Following studies in history and history of art Oberlin College, Ohio, and Columbia University, he began to collect in the1960s, starting with prints by Whistler and moving on to the Aesthetic Movement and the Arts & Crafts in Britain, as well as the arts of the Indian subcontinent and modern American painting. He was Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art from 1992-2006, and a benefactor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, the Morgan Library and Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art."

  • Title page: BOOKLEGGERS | AND | SMUTHOUNDS | THE TRADE IN EROTICA, 1920-1940 | JAY A. GERTZMAN | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS • PHILADELPHIA || Pagination: [8] [1] 2-418 [6] blanks, total 216 leaves. Binding: 24.5 x 16 cm; black cloth, silver lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket.
  • Title page: CATALOGUE | DES | OUVRAGES, ÉCRITS | ET DESSINS | DE TOUTE NATURE | POURSUIVIS, SUPPRIMÉS OU CONDAMNÉS | DEPUIS LE 21 OCTOBRE 1814 JUSQU'AU 31 JUILLET 1877 | Edition entièrement nouvelle, considérablement augmentée | SUIVIE DE LA TABLE DES NOMS D’AUTEURS ET D’ÉDITEURS | ET ACCOMPAGNÉE DE NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES ET ANALYTIQUES | PAR | FERNAND DRUJON | {publisher’s device} | PARIS | LIBRAIRIE ANCIENNE ET MODERNE | ÉDOUARD ROUVEYRE | 1, RUE DES SAINTS-PÈRES, 1 | 1879 || Pagination: [2] [i-v] vi-xxxvii [xxxviii blank] [1] 2-430 [2] 1-16, total number of pages 2+38+430+2+16=488. Collation: 8vo; π4 i-ii8 1-258 26-294 ω8, total number of leaves 4+(2x8)+(25x8)+(4x4)+8=244; 2 binder’s blank leaves before the front wrapper, 2 blanks after the wrapper, blank / avis important, h.t. with gift inscription from publisher to Anger / limitation, t.p. / blank, [text], 17 leaves of advert., 2 blanks before back wrapper, 1 binder’s blank after. Binding: 28.3 x 19 cm, tree-quarter beige buckram over marbled boards, spine: brown leather label with gilt double fillet top and bottom, gilt lettering, stamped in gilt with a lily and a year of publishing, gilt double-fillet to tail; publisher’s wrappers bound in. Bookplate with motto “AGE DICANT” to front pastedown. Gift inscription: "À mon ami Anger | Hommage de me bien dévoué | Édouard Rouveyre". Possibly Pierre Anger (1854-19..).
    Edition: 1st edition, this copy is from an unnumbered print run. Despite the note "Edition entièrement nouvelle, considérablement augmentée" this is obviously the 1st edition.
    Contributors: Drujon, Fernand (French, 1845 – 1912) Rouveyre, Édouard (French, 1849 – 1930)
  • Title-page: TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE | CHARLES AND MARY LAMB | — | With an Introduction by | MARTIN ARMSTRONG | {space} | {publisher’s device} | COLLINS | LONDON AND GLASGOW || Pagination: [1-4] 5-256, frontispiece: reproduction of portrait of Charles Lamb. Edition: reprint of 1953 edition (WorldCat); in Collins Classics series. Binding: 18.5 x 11 cm, semi-soft, crimson faux morocco, blind-stamped fillet border, gilt lettering to spine, TEG, slipcase. Contributors: William Shakespeare (English, 1564 – 1616) Mary Ann Lamb (British, 1764 – 1847) – author. Charles Lamb (British, 1775 – 1834) – author. Collins Clear-Type Press & Publisher (London; Glasgow) – printer and publisher. Note: “On the writing desk were two books – identical copies of Lamb’s Tales From Shakespeare. […] — Why did you choose Lamb? — It was the only book I could find in duplicate except Uncle Tom’s Cabin…” Graham Greene. Our Man in Havana.
  • Cover with title: Im Garten der Aphrodite | 18 Bildgaben | von | Franz von Bayros | {vignette} | Privatdruck || in a frame; table of contents and limitation to verso; 18 plates with the drawings of Bayros in collotype reproduction, each mounted on cardboard and protected with the remnants of tissue guards, some lacking. Of the publisher’s folder, only the front board with an oval title label is present. Some images signed “Choisy le Conin” – von Bayros’s pseudonym. Two prints are missing: (1) Das Füßchen and (2) Die Liebesschaukel, the other 16 prints present. The vignette on the cover is a photomechanical reproduction. Edition: limited to 350 copies of which this is № 253. According to Christie’s: a collotype reprint, about twenty years after their first publication. English equivalent: The Garden of Aphrodite. Portfolio with 18 photogravures. Catalogue raisonné: The amorous drawings of the Marquis von Bayros (1968): pp. 177-1877; Bayros Zeichningen (1987): pp. 143-152.
  • Etching and drypoint, signed in pencil by the artist under the plate; 2nd state. Pasted on a sheet of blue paper. Fragment of "La messe de Gnide". Owner's stamp 'LvM' on verso.

    Dimensions: Blue paper: 32 x 27 cm; Laid paper: 30.7 x 22 cm; Image: 12.5 x 4 cm.

    Catalogue raisonné: Arthur Hubschmid (1977): 364; Graphics irreverent and erotic (1968): 59; Rouir: 508.

  • Above the frame: PLAN DE PARIS EN MDCCCLIII. Below the frame: Gravé par F. DELAMARE […] PARIS. TYP. DE FIRMIN DIDOT FRÈRES, 56, RUE JACOB. […] PANICONOGRAPHIE DE GILLOT. Q. ST. MICHEL 23. Dimensions: Sheet: 37 x 52.5 cm: Image: 33 x 50 cm. Technique: Photozincography Contributors: Ferdinand Théodore Delamare (French, fl. 1850 – 1889) – engraver. Firmin Didot Frères ; Firmin Didot (French, 1764 – 1836) – publisher. Firmin Gillot (French, 1819 – 1872) – printer.  
  • Description: one volume 20 x 12.8 cm, collated 8vo, in grey wrappers (original?), printed on laid paper, with tall “s”, two vignettes by Benoît-Louis Prévost to A1 and A3, 320 entries, where entry 320 Portraits et médaillons, consists of 121 entries itself. Title-page: CATALOGUE | DE L'ŒUVRE | DE CH. NIC. COCHIN FILS, | Ecuyer, Chevalier de l’Ordre du Roy, | Censeur Royal, Garde des Desseins du | Cabinet de Sa Majesté, Secrétaire & | Historiographe de l'Académie Royale | de peinture & de sculpture. | Par Charles-Antoine Jombert. | {vignette by Benoît-Louis Prévost} | A PARIS ; | De l’Imprimerie de Prault. | — | M. DCC. LXX. || Collation: A-I8, K1 (approbation), χ 8 (blanks), two in-text vignettes, total 81 leaves. Pagination: [1-5] 6-144 [145] [17 blanks], ils.; total 162 pages. Ref: Gallica-BnF. Contributors: Charles-Antoine Jombert (French, 1712 – 1784) – author. Charles Nicolas Cochin (French, 1715 – 1790) Benoît-Louis Prévost (French, 1735/47 – 1804) Laurent-François Prault (French, 1712 – 1780)
  • 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
  • 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.

  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Ōju Toyokuni ga [応需豊国画], in a toshidama cartouche. Double nanushi censor seals Mera & Murata (1846-50). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小嶋屋重兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1797 – 1869). Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII [市川団十郎] (Ichikawa Ebizō VI, Ichikawa Shinnosuke II, Japanese, 1823 – 1854) watches the sunrise over Mount Fuji. The complete set of series Moon, Sun, Stars [月日星] (tsuki-hi-hoshi/boshi),  three sources of light (sankō) [三光]:
  • 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)
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Ichiyōsai Toyokuni hitsu [一陽斎豊国筆]. Inscriptions:  [松竹梅] Shochikubai = pine (matsu, ), bamboo (take, ), and plum (ume, ) – an auspicious grouping known as "The Three Friends of Winter"; [三福追] (Sanpuku tsui) – the three delights, or pleasures. Date seal and aratame censor seal: Ansei 2, 1st month (1855). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863); seal: Hori Take [彫竹]. Kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] (Nakamura Fukusuke I [中村福助], Nakamura Masanosuke I, Nakamura Komasaburō, Nakamura Tamatarō I, Japanese, 1831 –  1899) arranging a branch of blossoming plum to the memorial portrait of his predecessor  Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Nakamura Shikan II, Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō, Japanese, 1796 – 1852); the latter is dressed in a black robe adorned with a mokkō-crest (mon) of white plum blossom, the hanging scroll border decorated with arabesque and plum blossoms. Actors identified by Horst Graebner. Two fan prints from this series in Varshavsky Collection:

    SVJP-0336.2021

     
  • 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).  
  • Description: Hardcover, 24.5 x 16.5 cm, collated 8vo, bound in quarter green marbled sheepskin over buckram boards, publisher’s wrappers preserved. Front wrapper and title-page (red and black): LIANE DELORYS | JOUJOU | OU | LES LIBERTINAGES DU TRAVESTI | Orné de 16 héliogravures | PARIS | AUX GALANTS PASSE-TEMPS | 79, Rue de Vaugirard, 79 || Collation: [1]8 (2 blanks, h.t./advert., t.p./limit., text), 2-178 on laid paper (total 136 leaves) plus 16 photomechanical b/w plates, incl. frontispiece on thick wove paper. Pagination: [1-9] 10-269 [3], total 272 pages, ils. Limitation: a print run of 2,050 copies on vergé antique Hollande reserved for subscribers, of which this is copy № 379. Contributors: Author: Liane Delorys – pen name; the real name is unknown; according to various sources other pseudonyms of this author are: Liane Lauré, Liane de Lorys, Liane de Lauris, Lucette de Chata, and G. Donville. The latter may be a real name, though there is no information even about the gender of this person. Publisher: Aux Galants Passe-temps, i.e. Jean Fort or Jean-Marie Fort (French, fl. c. 1907 – 1839), also published under the name of ‘Collection des Orties Blanches’, ‘Bon Vieux temps’, ‘Au Cabinet du Livre’. Artist: Chéri Hérouard (French, 1881 – 1961). Printer: Darantiere (Dijon), i.e. Maurice Darantiere (French, 1882 – 1962).
  • Collection of poems. Hardcover volume, 20.7 x 13.3 cm, bound in green buckram, gilt double-fillet border, gilt frame, gilt lettering to front, gilt stars, fillets and lettering to spine, blind lettering to back, matching endpapers, pp.: [1-4] 5-637 [638] [2], total 640 pages, collated in-16mo, [1]-1116, 8 leaves of plates, 13-2116. Title-page: ПОЭТЫ | ГРУППЫ «ОБЭРИУ» | С.-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ • 1994 || Opposite to t.p.: БИБЛИОТЕКА ПОЭТА | ОСНОВАНА МАКСИМОМ ГОРЬКИМ В 1931 ГОДУ | БОЛЬШАЯ СЕРИЯ | ИЗДАНИЕ | ТРЕТЬЕ | СОВЕТСКИЙ ПИСАТЕЛЬ || Print run: 3,000 copies. Contributors: Михаил Борисович Мейлах (Russian-Jewish, b. 1944) Татьяна Львовна Никольская (Russian, b. 1945) Александр Николаевич Олейников (Russian, 1936 – 2013) Владимир Ибрагимович Эрль [Владимир Иванович Горбунов] (Russian, 1947 – 2020) ОБЭРИУ (Объединение Реального Искусства) Даниил Иванович Хармс [Ювачёв] (Russian, 1905 – 1942) Александр Иванович Введенский (Russian, 1904 – 1941) Николай Алексеевич Заболоцкий (Russian, 1903 – 1958) Игорь Владимирович Бахтерев (Russian, 1908 – 1996) Николай Макарович Олейников (Russian, 1898 – 1937) Константин Константинович Вагинов [Вагенгейм] (Russian, 1899 – 1934)
  • Photographic portrait of writer Vladimir Bukovsky with head tilted, closed eyes, and smoking a cigarette. Pencil-signed on the mat: 3/45 • Mikhail Lemkhin; on the back of the print: ink stamp ©MIKHAIL LEMKHIN, ink inscription ©mikhail Lemkhin; ink stamp: PHOTO BY: | MIKHAIL LEMKHIN | 2327 – 38th AVENUE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116 | (415) 664-7677, pencil inscription 3/45 Mikhail Lemkhin; pencil inscription on the back of the mat: (top) ВЛАДИМИР БУКОВСКИЙ | VLADIMIR BUKOVSKY, (bottom) VI. Size: mat: 43.2 x 35.7 cm; window: 21.5 x 18.5 cm; print: 25.3 x 20.3 cm. Limited edition of 45, of which this is № 3, signed and stamped by the artist. Sitter: Vladimir Bukovsky [Владимир Константинович Буковский] (Russian, 1942 – 2019). Popularity: Bukovsky left the Soviet Union, where he was kept in prison for his political views, in exchange for Luis Alberto Corvalán, a Chilean communist. The event was commemorated in the following folk verse:
    Обменяли хулигана На Луиса Корвалана. Где б найти такую блядь, Чтоб на Брежнева сменять!
    This can be translated as a Haiku:
    A troublemaker was exchanged for Luis Corvalán... Where to find a whore to exchange for Brezhnev?
     
  • Single volume, 17.1 x 11.2 cm, quarter black sheepskin over faux chagrin, gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, bottom and outer margin untrimmed, pp.: [i-v] vi- xxxvi, [1] 2-218 [2], collated 4to: π2, a-d4, 1-274 282, total 256 pages or 128 leaves, plus 20 engraved plates by Paul Sellier, including frontispiece portrait of Alexis Piron after bust by Caffieri. Vol. 8 of Bibliothèque Libre, Œuvres badines de Piron, printed on February 15, 1872. Text printed on dense wove paper watermarked P or M, plates printed on India wove paper. A reprint of an edition published in 1796 plus illustrations. Title-page: ŒUVRES | BADINES | D’ALEXIS PIRON | PRÉCÉDÉES | D’UNE NOTICE SUR SA VIE | Nouvelle édition, ornée de 20 figures en taille-douce | {vignette} | IMPRIMÉ PAR LES PRESSES DE LA SOCIÉTÉ | A NEUCHATEL | – | 1872 || Limitation: 100 numbered copies, of which this is № 75. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-788; Pia: 953-6; Kearney 377 (Patrick J. Kearney. A Catalogue of the publications of Jules Gay, Jean-Jules Gay & Gay et Doucé, revised & expanded. — Santa Rosa, CA Scissors & Paste Bibliographies, 2019) Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 81. Alexis PIRON. Œuvres badines précédées d’une notice sur sa vie. Nouvelle édition ornée de 20 figures en taille-douce. [ Jules Gay] Imprimé par les presses de la société, à Neufchatel, 1872. In-8, xxxvi, 218 pages et un feuillet d’achevé d’imprimer de table, demi-basane noire, dos à faux nerfs, tête et tranches naturelles. Illustré d’un portrait et de 20 figures par Paul Sellier. Tirage limité à 100 ex. numérotés. De la « Bibliothèque libre ou collection choisie d’ouvrages du genre libre, imprimés ou réimprimés par les soins de la Société des Bibliophiles Cosmopolites et pour les membres de cette société, à cent exemplaires numérotés ». Bibliographie : Pia 1030, Enfer 1274, Lem 3-454, Gay 5-339, PC 353, G* 38, Pey 203, Dutel A-788." Contributors: Alexis Piron (French, 1689 – 1773) – author. Paul Sellier (French, 1842 – 19..?) – artist. Jules Léopold Gay (French, 1807 – 1887) – publisher.
  • Two softcover volumes bound in one, 28.7 x 20.5 cm, quarter blue morocco over marbled boards, raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, top margin gilt, other untrimmed, marbled endpapers, original covers and spines preserved; 20 full-page etchings by Louis Berthommé Saint-André, incl. 2 frontispieces; vignettes, initials, head- and tailpieces in pink after André Collot. Title-page: TROIS FILLES | DE | LEUR MÈRE | {vignette} | TOME PREMIER (SECOND) | AUX DÉPENS D'UN AMATEUR | ET POUR SES AMIS || Collation: v.1 2ffl, front cover, [1-8] 2 blanks, h.t., t.p., pp. 9-94 [95, 96]; v.2 back cover, spine, front cover, 2 blanks, h.t., t.p., 97-201 [202-4] back cover, spine, 2ffl; plus 20 plates extraneous to collation. Limitation: A print run of 150 copies, of which this is copy № 76. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2521. As per Dutel, pp: 96+106 (conforms), and the year of 2 vol. publication 1933; however, the etchings are dated to 1926 by many. Contributors: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870 – 1925) – author. Louis Berthommé Saint-André (French, 1905 – 1977) – artist. André Collot (French, 1897 – 1976) – artist.
  • Paperback, 20 x 12.5 cm, grey pictorial wrappers, lettering to front, back, and spine; pp.: [1-2] 3-127 [128]. Title-page: ВЕНЕДИКТ | EРОФЕЕВ | in grid: МОСКВА  Р/6520  6308  6494 | {text in grid} | ПЕТУШКИ  {publisher’s device}  МОСКВА / «ИНТЕРБУК» / 1990 || Print-run: 250,000. Contributors: Венедикт Васильевич Ерофеев [Venedikt Yerofeyev] (Russian, 1938 – 1990) – author.
  • 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), 238 x 304 mm. Title: Saiko (West River) [西江]; 西江 means the Xi River in China. 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-0343.2021 — Tamagiku:

  • Four chromolithographic plates, each sheet 180 x 150 mm; image 16 x 12.5 cm after Feodor Rojankovsky, signed “Rojan”, titles printed on the back on red (à la chasse), blue (en voyage), green (aux courses), and yellow (depuis | 1865 les plus | jolis trousseaux | ont été créés par | LA GRANDE | MAISON DE | BLANC | place de l’opera | Paris | NICE CANNES DEAUVILLE LONDRES) background. Contributors: Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan, Фёдор Степанович Рожанковский] (Russian-American, 1891 – 1970) – artist.
  • Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 268 x 381 mm, vertical centerfold. On reverse: black ink stamp “5324”. Top centre: "PRISE DE SAARBRUCK"; left: "PELLERIN & Cie, imp. -édit."; right: "IMAGERIE D'EPINAL, № 134." Under the frame text starts with « La cri de guerre a retenti. La France a été forcée de tirer l’épée pour arrêter… ».[...] Prise de Saarbruck. | Depuis quelques jours, l’armée française occupait la frontière française en face de la Prusse.... Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – publisher/printer. The Battle of Saarbrücken (2 August 1870).
  • Hardcover volume, 38.3 x 26 x 3.8 cm, pictorial boards, lettering to front cover and spine, pp.: [1-6] 7-421 [3], ils. Title-page: Cesare Leonardi Franca Stagi | THE ARCHITECTURE | OF TREES | Introduction to the new edition | ANDREA CAVANI, GIULIO ORSINI | Translated from the Italian by | NATALIE DANFORD | Princeton Architectural Press | New York || Cesare Leonardi (Italian, 1935 – 2021) Franca Stagi (Italian, 1937 – 2008) Natalie Danford (American, b. 1968)
  • 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:
  • Iron tsuba of quatrefoil form with design of bamboo stems and leaves, and a plank bridge in openwork (sukashi). Hitsu-ana of irregular form. Iron with smooth chocolate patina. Copper and shakudō sekigane. This piece is illustrated in Sasano: Japanese Sword Guard Masterpieces from the Sasano Collection, 1994 on page 295 under № 254 with the following description:
    Nishigaki. First generation Kanshiro (died in the sixth year of Genroku, 1693, at the age of 81). Sukashi design: Bamboo (take). Early Edo period, late 17th century (Kanbun / Enppo era). Height: 72.6 mm; Width: 71.5 mm; Rim thickness: .6 mm; Centre thickness: 5.1 mm. Rounded rim. The shape of this sword guard is a quatrefoil and the design is arranged in the form of a saddle flap. Two bamboo trunks with leaves comprise the design. Calm, soothing and sophisticated are the features of this artist in his later years. Such characteristics may remind one of the work of the first Hikozo.
    Provenance: Sasano Masayuki collection, № 254. What is interesting, and what had been found by Bruce Kirkpatrick, is that in the earlier photograph of the same piece ['Sukashi tsuba - bushido no bi' by Sasano Masayuki, photography by Fujimoto Shihara, 1972 (in Japanese), page 245, №201] we clearly see kebori - linear carving that decorates the bamboo leaves and the planks of the bridge. The said kebori have totally disappeared between 1972 and 1994. The tsuba became absolutely flat! Now we can only speculate about the reasons for such cruel treatment of the artistically and historically important item.

    Sukashi tsuba - bushido no bi. Author: Sasano Masayuki, photography: Fujimoto Shihara, 1972 (in Japanese). Page 245, №201.

  • Гоббс Томас. Левиафан или материя, форма и власть государства церковного и гражданского. Предисловие и редакция А. Ческиса. - М.-Л.: Гос.соц.-эконом.из-во (СОЦЭКГИЗ), 1936. - 504 стр.

    Тираж 10 000 экз.

    Библиотека материализма. Томас Гоббс (1588-1679)ю

  • Utagawa Toyokuni (歌川豐國); 1769 – 24 February 1825. The kabuki actors Ichikawa Danzo IV as Jiroemon (in draw cape) and Morita Kanya VIII as Buemon. Play 'Oriai Tsuzure no Nishiki', performed at the Moritaza Theater in the 7th month of 1798. Publisher: Eijudo.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with two boar's eyes (inome) and two dragonflies (tombo) in small openwork (ko-sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate also decorated with 2 to 5 concentric circular rows of brass dots (nail heads) in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire. The inlaid metal is of red-ish hue, so it may be copper, and not brass. The surface has remnants of lacquer. Ōnin school. Mid Muromachi period, middle of 15th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 90 mm, thickness: 3.2 mm. Notes regarding design: "According to various sources, the dragonfly (tombo) is emblematic of martial success, as various names for the insect are homophones for words meaning "victory". The dragonfly is also auspicious because references in the Kojiki and Nihongi link it in both name and shape to the old kingdom of Yamato."  [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, p. 108]. "The dragonfly (tonbo), was also called kachimushi in earlier times, and due to the auspicious literal meaning "victory bug" of the characters of this word it became a popular theme on sword fittings." [Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition "Kurogane no hana", The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014, p. 13]. Two other cutouts - in the form of what in European tradition symbolizes the heart, on the top and in the bottom of tsuba disc - may have two different explanations. The most usual one, inome - "Heart-shaped pattern, which is said to go back to the shape of a wild boar's eye" [Markus Sesko. Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords. Print and publishing: Lulu Enterprises, Inc., 2014.]. This understanding is shared by Robert Haynes [Robert E. Haynes. Study Collection of Japanese  Sword Fittings. Nihon Art Publishers, 2010.] and elsewhere, with an exception of Okabe-Kakuya [Okabe-Kakuya. JAPANESE SWORD GUARDS. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In cooperation with the department of Chinese and Japanese art; - 1908, p. 14], who provides the illustration of inome-shaped cut-outs with the following explanation: " The tsuba shown in Fig. 13 approaches a square form with rounded corners and is perforated with Aoi decoration. But this book was written long time ago, when people even at MFA might not know enough... The same interpretation of the said heart-like symbol (aoi leaf) is given at Helen C. Gunsaulus. Japanese sword-mounts in the collection of Field Museum. // Publication 216, Anthropological Series, Volume XVI; Chicago, 1923; p. 54: "This mokkō-formed tsuba recalls the aoi form, perforated as it is with the four aoi leaves." It is possible that the "wild boar's eye" theory was developed by later scholars.   There is also a theory, supported by Graham Gemmell, saying that: “In simple terms Onin works are decorated Ko-Katchushi tsuba. … But, not content with iron alone, they began to decorate it with what was, in the early Muromachi period, a rare and valuable metal, brass. The Onin workers cut the design into the iron, using narrow channels, cast the brass, piece by piece, and then hammered it into the iron plate as though they were putting together a jigsaw. When complete the tsuba would be black lacquered exactly as the plain iron ones had been, the brass shining dully through it in a way that fulfilled the goal of shibui or restrained elegance.” [Tosogu. Treasure of the samurai. Fine Japanese Sword Fittings from The Muromachi to The Meiji Period, by Graham Gemmell. // Sarzi-Amadè Limited, London, 1991. An exhibition held in London from 21st March to 4th April, 1991]. The following illustration from Helen C. Gunsaulus. Japanese sword-mounts in the collection of Field Museum. // Publication 216, Anthropological Series, Volume XVI; Chicago, 1923; pp. 43 supports the idea. Helen C. Gunsaulus' description of the dragonfly emblem is as follows: "This motive, the dragon-fly  (akitsu), is generally accepted as a symbol of the kingdom of Japan, and the origin of the idea is traced to the legend recounted in the Kojiki and Nihongo of the Emperor Jimmu's view of the island from mountain top. He is said to have thought the kingdom looked like a dragon-fly touching its tail with its mouth. From this it received its name Akitsu-shima... etc."  
  • Shimizu-Jingo tsuba with a dragon and vajra (on reverse) motif. Unsigned. Possibly, 3rd or 4th master of Shimizu-Jingo family in Higo province. Iron. Low relief carving. Edo period, 1700's. Height: 75.4 mm, Width: 72.2 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 4.0 mm
  • Unsigned print, attributed to Suzuki Harunobu. Erotic scene on open veranda with a winter landscape on background.
  • The Seven Gods of Good Luck in the Takarabune (ship of fortune) with a crane (the phoenix) above them.

    Attributed to Katsukawa Shunshō, fl. 1726–92. Publisher: Uemura from Shiba (Edo). Marks "Publishers": U361|25-300: Uemura han (1793-1813). Marks "Artists, publishers...": Emiya Kichiemon (1688-1835). Artist signature absent. Looks very much like Pins #565 [p.223], but NOT the same. This exact design has not been found anywhere.