/Collection
  • Hardcover volume from the series Masterworks of ukiyo-e, 26.3 x 19.2 cm, bound in unprimed canvas, red characters on black strip to front, red and black lettering to spine, tan flat endpapers, in a pictorial slipcase with series design (black lettering on silver spine); pp: [1-6]: h.t./frontis. (colour plate pasted in), t.p./imprint, contents/acknowledgements), 7-31 text, [32] blank, 33-96 (58 plates w/captions). Title-page (in frame): MASTERWORKS OF UKIYO-E | STUDIES IN NATURE | HOKUSAI-HIROSHIGE | by Muneshige Narazaki | Translated by John Bester | {publisher’s device} | KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL LTD. | Tokyo, Japan & Palo-Alto, Calif., U.S.A | {vertical, between rules 花鳥風月} || 花鳥風月 (Kachou Fugetsu) – beauties of nature. Series: Masterworks of ukiyo-e, № 11. Contributors: Muneshige Narazaki [楢崎 宗重] (Japanese, 1904 – 2001) – author. John Bester (British, 1927 – 2010) – translator. Katsushika Hokusai [葛飾 北斎] (Japanese, 1760 – 1849) – artist. Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858) – artist.
  • Hardcover volume, 8vo, 21.5 x 14.5 cm, bound by Riviere & Son (stamped on fep verso bottom) in full brown calf, boards with triple gilt fillet border and gilt dentelle inside, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, black label with gilt lettering, all margins gilt, blue endpapers, bookplate of Arthur Rau pasted to front pastedown (text: Les hommes sont méchants mais leurs livres sont bons / Arthur Rau; signed: E. H. New – A.D. 1922), traces of removed owner’s label to fep recto; printed on laid paper. Title-page (engraved, in floral frame): LE TEMPLE | DE GNIDE. | Mis en Vers | Par M. Colardeau | {vignette with portrait of Pierre Corneille} | A PARIS | Chez le Jay, Libraire, Rue St. Jacques au dessus de | celle des Mathurins au Grand Corneille || Collation: 2 blanks, h.t., engraved t.p. with a portrait of Pierre Corneille, a8, A-E8 F4 (52 leaves), 2 blanks, plus 7 plates by various engravers after Charles Monnet. Pagination: [i] ii-xvi, [1] 2-88 (104 pp). Ref: MFA (Boston): accession number 37.1747 Catalogue raisonné: Lewine 114, Cohen-DeRicci 245-6. Contributors: Charles Monnet (French, 1732 – after 1808) – artist. Engravers:  Jean Charles Baquoy (French, 1721 – 1777) Nicolas Delaunay (French, 1739 – 1792) Isidore Stanislas Helman (French, 1743 – 1806) Louis Joseph Masquelier (French, 1741 – 1811) François Denis Née (French, 1735 – 1818) Nicholas Ponce (French, 1746 – 1831) Portrait(s) designed by: Guillaume Voiriot (French, 1713 – 1799) Author: Charles-Pierre Colardeau (French, 1732 – 1776) Publisher: Edmé-Jean Le Jay (French, 1734 – 1795) Bookplate artist: Edmund Hort New (British, 1871 – 1931) Provenance: Arthur Rau (British, 1898 – 1972); his obituary can be found in The Book Collector 1973, vol. 22, n°1, p. 86-89. According to the genealogy service Geni, Arthur Aron Rau was born to Jacob Aryeh Rau and Katharina (Kaethe) Rau, and has a sister Cecilia (Tsipporah) Rosenfelder and a brother Frederick Solomon Rau. He went to Oxford and then joined Maggs Brothers in their Paris establishment. "After some years there, he set up on his own, returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War to be a schoolmaster for ten years". In 1949 he returned to Paris and retired in 1963, "and his last years he happily spent in Wensleydale...". All he published during his lifetime were two catalogues, Livres Rares Et Anciens. Manuscrits et Autographes. — Paris: Arthur Rau, 1932-3 and Cinquante Tres Beaux Livres Avec Un Appendice. — Paris: Arthur Rau, 1933. He also contributed to The Book Collector.
    Seller’s description: In-8° : [2]-t. gr.-xvi-88 pp. ; 7 h.-t. (qqs rouss.). - Poème d'après le roman de Montesquieu ill. de 7 eaux-fortes par Bacquoy, Delaunay, Née, etc., d'après Charles Monnet. Titre gr. orné d'un portr. de Corneille. Cohen, qui cite un ex. millésimé 1773, signale des ex. avec la date de 1772 ou sans date. - Réf. Cohen 245-246. - Conlon 72:675 (éd. à l'adresse d'Amsterdam et Paris, 1772). - Pas dans Reynaud. - Prov. Arthur Rau (1898-1972), gérant de la librairie Maggs à Paris avant d'ouvrir sa propre librairie en 1932 (ex-libris gr. par E.H. New, 1922 ; réf. BnF). - Traces d'ex-libris décollé à la garde sup.
  • Oblong hardcover volume, 13.3 x 21 cm, bound in brown buckram with embossed gilt lettering to front, pp.: [1-4] 5-482 [2] errata leaf tipped-in. Title-page: СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ ПИСАТЕЛЕЙ СССР | СПРАВОЧНИК | на 1954 — 1955 годы | ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО «Советский писатель» | МОСКВА 1954 || On page 71, second from bottom: Варшавский Сергей Петрович, г. Ленинград, Ропшинская ул., д. 1/32, кв. 18, тел. В 3-56-00. Print run: 3,000 copies.
  • Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 430 x 285 mm; black ink stamp “5051” to reverse. Top right: "GÉNÉRAL | de division." — "359." Bottom: "Imagerie de DIDION, à Metz. Déposé." Paulin Didion (French, 1831 – 1879) – publisher/printer.
  • Hardcover volume, 12mo, 125 x 85 mm, two parts in one, bound and gilded by Cuzin and Maillard, respectively, between 1876 and 1881, in crimson crushed morocco with raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, gilt dentelle, signed 'Cuzin' to foot of front turn-in and 'Maillard dor.' to rear. Adorned with engraved frontispiece and 12 plates by Elluin after Borel. Text printed on a slightly bluish paper. Title-page: LE | MEURSIUS FRANÇOIS, | OU | ENTRETIENS GALANS | D'ALOYSIA. | ORNÉ | DE FIGURES. | — | TOME PREMIER (SECOND) | — | ✵ | A CYTHERE | — | M. DCC. LXXXII. || Collation: 12mo, π4 (2 blanks) A-Z6 χ1,+ π2 A-S6 (4 blanks) χ1, total 254 leaves; pagination: [8] [1] 2-277 [278 blank], [4] [1] 2-210 [8 blanks], total 508 pages, plus 13 engraved plates, incl. frontispiece. Catalogue raisonné: Cohen-de Ricci 240; Eros invaincu 17; Fekete 51; Nordmann (I) 91. Contributors: Nicolas Chorier (French, 1612 – 1692) – author. Antoine Borel (French, 1743 – 1810) – artist. François-Rolland Elluin (French, 1745 – c. 1822) – engraver. Hubert-Martin Cazin (French, 1724 – 1795) – publisher. Francisque Cuzin (French, 1836 – 1890) – bookbinder. Seller’s description: Erotica.- [Chorier (Nicolas)]Le Meursius François, ou Entretiens galans d'Aloysia, 2 parts in 1, half-title to each part, engraved frontispiece and 12 plates [by Elluin after Borel], handsomely bound in crimson crushed morocco by Cuzin, spine with gilt lettering and five raised bands, gilt tooled turn-ins by Maillard, signed 'Cuzin' to foot of front turn-in and 'Maillard dor.' to rear, marbled endpapers, g.e., fractional rubbing to extremities, an excellent copy, 12mo, Cythere [but Paris], [Cazin], 1782.
  • A set of 49 prints, heliogravures and etchings, tipped-in on 285 x 257 mm grey cards, in a green marbled folder with a gilt-lettered black label to the front. No publisher, no place, no year (s.l., s.n., s.d.), printed in circa 1910.
    1. Vlastimil Blažek (Czech, 1878 – 1950): heliogravure, sheet 180 x 137 mm, plate 152 x 114 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; unsigned.
    2. Ex libris Gerhard Wunderlich (architect in Dresden): heliogravure, sheet 205 x 150 mm, plate 158 x 115 mm; wove paper, brown sepia ink; inscription: heliogravure, sheet 180 x 137 mm, plate 152 x 114 mm; laid paper, sepia ink; inscription to top “Es ist alles so eng”; signed “F (backwards). Bayros”.
    3. Ex libris William Lipka: heliogravure, sheet 140 x 125 mm, plate 112 x 98 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; signature hardly legible.
    4. Nikolaus Schindler (amateur photographer in Vienna): heliogravure, sheet 142 x 150 mm, plate 110 x 117 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; unsigned.
    5. Sussy de Coiquard: heliogravure, sheet 160 x 140 mm, plate 128 x 110 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; unsigned.
    6. Illegible, looks like “Vielluer Febréy”: heliogravure, sheet 120 x 109 mm, plate 93 x 85 mm; laid paper, black, sepia ink; signed “F (backwards). Bayros:”.
    7. Ex libris Erich Liebermann-Rosswiese (Greman-Jewish, 1886 – 1942): heliogravure, sheet 180 x 139 mm, plate 118 x 88 mm; wove paper, black sepia ink; unsigned.
    8. Ex libris Dr. phil. Rudolf Ludwig: before letters, heliogravure, sheet 150 x 132 mm, plate 120 x 110 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; unsigned. See [LIB-3258.2023] John Cleland. Die Memoiren der Fanny Hill. — Paphos [i.e. Vienna]: C. W. Stern, 1906.
    9. Unidentified: before letters, heliogravure, sheet 150 x 115 mm, plate 113 x 88 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript. Circumstantial evidence tells that this bookplate belongs to someone A.W.(Artur Wolf). See №22.
    10. Lulu. Monachia. Gest. v. Ritter Dialekt und Junker Erich: heliogravure, sheet 204 x 152 mm, plate 160 x 118 mm; wove paper, black sepia ink; unsigned. See №20.
    11. Kellner Jstván: (István): heliogravure, sheet 118 x 100 mm, plate 85 x 70 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; signed “Franz Bayros” in the script (hardly legible).
    12. Adyton: heliogravure, sheet 170 x 130 mm, plate 113 x 85 mm; wove paper, black, sepia ink; signed “F (backwards). Bayros”.
    13. 13.Ex libris George Arthur Buhl (American, 1883 – 1959): heliogravure, sheet 166 x 140 mm, plate 120 x 92 mm; wove paper, black sepia ink; inscription “!I will! | !And I can!”; bust inscribed “T. Carlyle”; signed “F (backwards). Bayros” (hardly legible).
    14. Ex-Libris Heinrich und Lise Fuhrmann: heliogravure, sheet 165 x 149 mm, plate 120 x 103 mm; wove paper, black sepia ink; signed “F (backward). Bayros”; inscription “So schaff ich am sausenden Webstuhl der Zeit und wirke der Gottheit lebendiges Kleid” (from ‘Faust’ by Goethe).
    15. Ex libris Gerhard Wunderlich (architect in Dresden): heliogravure, sheet 165 x 137 mm, plate 135 x 105 mm; laid paper, black, sepia ink; signed “F (backwards). Bayros”.
    16. Ex Libris Walther u. Amelia Fahrenhorst; Walter Fahrenhorst (German, 1871 – 1938): heliogravure, sheet 165 x 140 mm, plate 128 x 95 mm; wove paper, black sepia ink; signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript. The inscription behind the strings: NITOR (lat. beauty, glamour).
    17. Ex Libris Margot Lewknecht; heliogravure, sheet 145 x 140 mm, plate 128 x 118 mm; laid paper, black sepia ink; signed “F. Bayros”.
    18. Ex Libris Walther Heinisch (publisher in Carlsbad); heliogravure, sheet 185 x 145 mm, plate 140 x 110 mm; wove paper, sanguine; male bust with an inscription to the base: “Arnold Boeklin” / Arnold Böcklin (Swiss, 1827 – 1901); inscription: “mit gêru scal man geba infâhan” – a line from Hildebrandslied, the earliest poetic text in German. Unsigned.
    19. Bookplate with music score GGDBGC; heliogravure, sheet 125 x 135 mm, plate 100 x 110 mm, with monogram «HCJ»; laid paper, brown sepia ink; signed “F. Bayros”.
    20. Bookplate with inscription: Lulu aus Praga | Gest v. Ritter Dialekt / Monachia / Monachia / und Junker Erich; heliogravure, sheet 182 x 147 mm, plate 160 x 120 mm, image 122 x 105 mm; wove paper, bluish-black sepia ink; unsigned. See №10.
    21. Bookplate, no inscription; heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 148 x 127 mm, image 84 x 79 mm; signed F. Bayros in the manuscript beneath the image.
    22. Ex libris Artur Wolf: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 170 x 150 mm, image 120 x 105 mm; signed F. Bayros in the manuscript to the frame of the image. See №9.
    23. Ex Libris E. K. Weigl: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 139 x 121 mm, plate 112 x 97 mm; unsigned; inscription above male portrait: “LEONARDO”.
    24. Ex libris Dr. A. Bergmann: heliogravure, wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 180 x 140 mm, plate 130 x 105 mm; signed F. Bayros in the manuscript.
    25. Grete Cäcilie (monogram “PS”): heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 161 x 130 mm, plate 128 x 103 mm, signature illegible.
    26. Emma Steigleder: heliogravure, laid paper, black ink, sheet 181 x 141 mm, plate 158 x 117 mm, signed F. Bayros in the manuscript. Inscription “Si vis amari, ama! Seneca” [If you want to be loved, love] to the attic of the arch.
    27. Bruno Fischer: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 186 x 145 mm, plate 155 x 116 mm, signed “F (backward). Bayros”. Inscription to bottom “Gehl Weck’ ihn nicht auf seien wir froh dass er einmal schläft!”
    28. Harnasch: heliogravure, wove paper, sepia ink; unsigned; sheet 140 x 132 mm, plate 100 x 85 mm; unsigned.
    29. Eduard Klampfl: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 165 x 145 mm, plate 135 x 110 mm, signed “F (backwards). Bayros”; portrait bust of the composer Richard Wagner (German, 1813 –1883).
    30. Jorge Monsalvatje: heliogravure, wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 189 x 160 mm, plate 150 x 115 mm; signed F. Bayros in the manuscript.
    31. E. K. W.: wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 150 x 120 mm; signed “Bayros”.
    32. Unidentified bookplate: wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 150 x 120 mm; signed “F. Bayros 09” in the manuscript.
    33. Ex-Libris Helene and Emil Lemberger: heliogravure (or soft ground etching), laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 180 x 163 mm, plate 150 x 130 mm, signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript.
    34. M. Z.: wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 130 x 170 mm, plate 90 x 120 mm; signed “F (backwards) Bayros”.
    35. Ex libris Frankl Frigyes Vilmos: heliogravure (or soft ground etching), laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 140 x 148 mm, unsigned. Frigyes Frankl, born in Tejfalu, Szlovákia, died in 1943.
    36. Ex libris Anton Bürck: heliogravure, wove paper, sepia ink; sheet 170 x 137 mm, plate 123 x 104 mm; unsigned. Anton Burck (German,1881 – 1951) of Palatinate, Bavaria.
    37. Aus den büchern A. W.: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 152 x 136 mm, plate 120 x 105 mm, signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript.
    38. Ex libris Hans Hickl: heliogravure, laid paper, sepia ink, sheet 150 x 125 mm, plate 115 x 95 mm, signed “Ω”.
    39. Ex libris Karl Wehle: soft ground etching, laid paper, brown sepia ink, sheet 107 x 90 mm, plate 80 x 65 mm, inscription “Gut!” in the centre; unsigned. Karl Wehle (Austrian, 1901 – 1933)
    40. Ex libris Dr. Paul Berger: etching, laid paper, black ink, sheet 140 x 115 mm, plate 115 x 85 mm, signed “F (backwards). Bayros”.
    41. Unidentified bookplate: etching, laid paper, black ink, sheet 145 x 115 mm, plate 85 x 70 mm, unsigned.
    42. Ex Bibliotheca Erotica Carl Georg von Maassen: soft ground etching, india paper, black ink, sheet 76 x 78 mm, signed “FB”.
    43. Ex Bibliotheca Erotica Carl Georg von Maassen: soft ground etching, india paper, black ink, sheet 79 x 79 mm, signed “F. von Bayros”.
    44. Paul Mixa: soft ground etching, laid paper, sanguine ink, sheet 122 x 111 mm, plate 90 x 85 mm, inscription: “Gerne hör’ich wenn du singest und ich horche wenn du schweigest” [I like to hear when you sing and I listen when you are silent].
    45. Ex libris Drs Q. M. Vyskocil.: etching, laid paper, sanguine ink, sheet 141 x 115 mm, plate 115 x 75 mm, inscription: “MIT REINEN HAENDEN” [with pure hands], signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript.
    46. Ex libris Andrée Bearn de Riquer: soft ground etching, laid paper, sanguine ink, sheet 136 x 88 mm, plate 100 x 62 mm, signed “F (backwards). Bayros”. Andrée Béarn [Marguerite Laborde] (French, 1880 – 1973), spouse of Alexandre de Riquer (Catalan, 1856 – 1920).
    47. Ex musicis Drs Blažek VL: etching, wove paper, sanguine ink, sheet 141 x 116 mm, plate 115 x 90 mm, inscription: “MIT REINEN HAENDEN” [with pure hands], signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript. See Vlastimil Blažek (Czech, 1878 – 1950) № 1 in this series.
    48. Ex libris Paul Lindenberg: etching, wove paper, sanguine ink, sheet 130 x 114 mm, plate 95 x 90 mm, image 80 x 72 mm, inscription: “ad pios usus” (for pious uses); signed with monogram “F (backwards). B”.
    49. Unidentified bookplate: heliogravure, laid paper, sanguine ink, sheet 150 x 131 mm, plate 120 x 100 mm, signed “F. Bayros” in the manuscript.
  • Japanese lacquer writing box (suzuribako) with an eagle sitting on a pine tree over the see waves.  Rectangular box with rounded corners, slightly convex overlapping lid. Lacquer on wood with maki-e decoration in gold powder. The lid decorated inside with pine cones and needles over gold maki-e. Edo or Meiji period, 19th century.
  • The morgue at Paris - The last scene of a tragedy. Harper's Weekly: July 18, 1874. Text - page 606.SVVP-0002-2. The morgue at Paris - The last scene of a tragedy.jpeg Image cited at: L'Ecume des lettres Français seconde, Programme 2019 by Julien Harang, page 44.
  • Mori Sosen (1747-1821). A Monkey Seated on a Rock with an Infant Monkey. Hanging scroll painting. Ink and colour on silk. Signed: Sosen. Sealed: Sosen. 108.3 x 38.3 cm. Provenance: According to the box inscriptions, the painting was in the possession of Itakura Katsunao, a daimyo lord in present-day Gunma, in 1808. In 1881, the painting was subsequently acquired by Negishi Shôrei (1833-1897) a master swordsman who established the Negishi school of shuriken ("The only specialist school to have survived is the Negishi-ryū, which was founded by Negishi Shorei in the mid-1800s".)
  • Iron tsuba of oval form with design of cherry blossoms in positive and negative silhouette openwork (ji-sukashi and in-sukashi). Details chiseled in kebori technique. Rounded rim. Copper sekigane. Higo school, Hayashi sub-school. Unsigned. Attributed to  third generation Tōhachi (1723-1791). Edo period, 18th century (Hōreki / Meiwa era: 1751-1772). Height: 78.7 mm. Width: 72.2 mm. Rim thickness: 5.2 mm. Center thickness: 5.2 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 289: "Hayashi. Third generation Tohachi (died in in the third year of Kansei, 1791 at the age of sixty-nine). Early 18th century (Hohreki Meiwa era). "  
  • Well-forged iron plate of round shape (maru-gata) is decorated with water weeds or arabesque (karakusa) in flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) all over and eight family crests (mon) of round form in cast brass with delicate linear carving (kebori) and openwork (sukashi). Crests represent: [at 9 hours] three counter-clockwise commas or swirls (tomoe); [at 10:30] plum blossom (ume); [at 12:00, 1:130, and 7:30] - stylized flower made by cutting out five suhama symblos (flower-shaped suhama); [at 3:00] bellflower (kikyō); [at 4:30] seven-star crest (shichiyō-mon); [at 6:00] cherry blossom (sakura). Brass-trimmed ryo-hitsu. Copper sekigane. Yoshirō school. Momoyama or early Edo period, end of the 16th to first half of the 17th century (1574-1650). Inscription on seppa-dai: 八幡 - Hachiman. Size: height 89.6 mm, width 89.3 mm, thickness at seppa-dai 3,0 mm. Weight 129.7 g. NBTHK certificate № 4007685, June 27, 2015: HOZON (Worthy of Preservation). As for the inscription, Nihonto Message Board blog discussion provides the following explanation of the inscription: "An expression of conviction as to being the best under the sun". On the other hand, there may be more in this confluence of symbols: the tomoe crest at 9:00 is "the kamon of Hachiman, the war god" [Family Crests of Japan; Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, CA, 2007, p. 108]. The character 八 in the inscription cut stronger than the other kanji, and may be by a different hand in different time. 八 (hachi, eight): "The numeral eight was appreciated because its shape broadens toward the bottom, symbolizing eternal expansion" [ibid, p. 119]. It may be said that this tsuba is dedicated to Hachiman. Other crests (suhama, bellflower, seven-stars, plum and cherry blossoms) collectively allude to "good old times" when Fijiwara and Taira clans were in full bloom. Markus Sesko believes that the inscriptions reads: Hachiman: "the inscription is/was HACHIMAN (八幡), the God of War and a relatively popular inscription for tsuba, swords and armor." Elliott Long and Robert Haynes provide the following explanation of the inscription: "...hachi is correct and represents the name of the HACHI SHRINE. The inscription reads 'YAWATA' which is the name of the mountain in Mino Province where the HACHI Shrine is located". Details on Hachiman Shrine in Yawata (八幡市) can be found elsewhere, including Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan by Edmond Papinot. Van Ham auction house provides the following description: MON-SUKASHI TSUBA. MARUGATA. Japan. Momoyama period. Yoshiro school. Iron with inlays of brass. In hira-zogan technique with kebori engraving eight different family emblems (mon). An old inscription is dedicated to the deity Hachiman. D.4.5mm, Ø 8.3cm. Condition A/B. Supplement: Wooden box and NBTHK certificate.
  • Evening Snow on Mount Hira (Hira no bosetsu), from the series Eight Views of Ōmi in Modern Guise (Ryaku Ōmi hakkei, (略近江八景). About 1773–75 (An'ei 2–4). Artist: Isoda Koryūsai (Japanese, 1735–1790) CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ: Hockley 2003, p. 202, #F-21-1 DIMENSIONS: Vertical chûban; 26 x 19.3 cm (10 1/4 x 7 5/8 in.)
    Signed: Koryû ga [湖竜画]
  • Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 22- BCE - 125 CE.Polychrome vessel of organic, phytomorphic form and thin walls finely painted with six slithering serpents and protruding floral motifs in hues of red, orange, cream, black, grey, and white.

    Chips of base and rim. Pressure fissures on and a bit above the base. Surface wear commensurate with age.

    Size: Diameter: 19 cm; Height: 16 cm; Mouth diameter: 8.5 cm.

     
  • Iron tsuba of circular form with design of pine trees (matsu) and monkey toys (kukurizaru) in openwork (ko-sukashi). Ko-Katchushi school.

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

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

  • 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.

    Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei (c. 1797-1869), seal: Hanmoto, Jū [板元, 十] (Marks 19-043 | 264c).

    Double nanushi censor seals: Mera & Watanabe – Kaei 4 (1851).

    Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 298 x 228 mm depicting a young woman adjusting her hairpin and holding a portable lantern (andon) on a marine background with the full moon, nearby boats and distant cormorant fishers.
  • 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). Combined date and kiwame seal: Ansei 5 (II-XII/1858). Size: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 300 x 232 mm.

    A young woman adjusting her hairpin on a balcony during the Tanabata festival, as inscribed on the white folding fan: [七夕] (Tanabata).

    Inscription on the blue book (print title): Early autumn [はつ秋や] (hatsu akiya), inscription on the purple book (series title): Short love songs, second volume [端唄の意 二編] (Hauta no kokoro nihen). According to Marks (2010), Hauta no kokoro nihen series of fan prints was published by Ibaya in 1858 (p. 267|P6871).

    The series refers to love songs of a certain type popular in late Edo. They were performed with the accompaniment of a shamisen, “Seven herbs of autumn, the song of the insects is not heard; the bodies of lightning bugs are burnt, and the precious writings of love are getting thinner like the song of the insects as I am waiting for you. So, on an early autumn evening, I spot the glitter of a lightning bug that lingered among the autumn grasses, and while listening to the pine cricket, I am singing with my heart troubled by love". [Tokyo National Museum; translation provided by Elena Varshavsky].

    Tanabata [たなばた] or [七夕] – meaning "Evening of the seventh", also known as the Star Festival [星祭] (Hoshi matsuri) is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's wishes on a piece of paper and hang that piece of paper on a specially erected bamboo tree, in the hope that the wishes become true.

  • The 103rd Bon Bock Dinner Invitation

    Artist: François Avenet a.k.a. Alexandre Ferdinandus (French, 1850 – 1888).

    Bismarck à Alphonse

    Alphonse, cher poissure! Roi pschutt du monde u’lan! Je te fais Colonel des pillards de pendules! Si cela fait rager le Bon-Bock et les Jules Tant mieux! Mais garde bien to Trône Basque-Uhlan. O. Pradels.

    Cher monsieur, Le 103ème Dîner du Bon-Bock aura lieu mardi prochain / à 7h précises aux Vendanges de Bourgognel / 14, rue Jessaint (place de la Chapelle). Si vous nous faites le plaisir d’y assister : Veuillez écrire à Mr. E. Bellot, / 37 rue St Marc, au plus tard lundi soir. Votre réponse / est absolument obligatoire pour faire mettre votre couvert (nos camarades des théâtres exceptés.) L’affirmative entraine le paiement de la cotisation présence ou absence. / Programme de notre dernière soirée. 1e H Covin (piano) une valse de sa compo- / sition. 2e de Courment : Le Chanteur du roi (1ère série) par l’auteur. / 3e Dulin de l’o.p.e. Rondeau de la petite mariée 4e Doublemard : / souvenir de la Plage La baigneuse 5e "la famille des Saltimbanque" / 6e C. Maubant Romance de la Traviata. 7e Ct. Carjat Toast à l’Alsace-/Lorraine vers par l’auteur. 8e Guillabert de l’ap. de Nantes : le Pressoir mud. de / Faure . 9e Ch. Delacour : le Poete, Sonnet. 10e if. le Duc Jean if. 11e / Fromentin. Panurge (Mus. d’Hervé) 13e A. Claris la Haine vers par l’aut. / Benty : mon p’tit neveu : paroles d’Po Clouvier. mus. de Darcier. 15e Charles / Delacour : la leçon d’Arithmétique. 16e J.B. Collegnon Fanchette, romance/ par l’auteur. 17e Doublemard : le Cocher (monologue de P. Marzin) 18e / Dulin : le Cor musique de Flégier. 19e J. M. Collignon : Elle s’appela/ Marguerite par. De L. Baillet mus de Collignon. 20e L. Bellot / annonce de l’exposition des arts incohérents sous la direction de / Jules Féry. Tous nos remerciements à Mr. Henri Covin qui a tenu le/ piano toute la soirée et a nos Camarades Ferdinandus pour son / croquis qui est absolument v’lan et à O. Pradels pour son quatrain/ des plus pachutt. // Recevez, cher Monsieur, nos salutations bien Cordiale / E. Bellot, G durater E. Cottin, R. Géner, L. Bocilart, H. Héger comba / assistaient au Dernier Dîner Mrs : Henner, Jean Brenner, Et. Carjat / Margue, Dulin, Fromentin, H. Stéger, A . Stéger, eh. Delacour, G. Mayer, Sanzel/ Denis Poulot, Bricaire, Doublemard, Vigneron, T. Boulart, L. Mayeur, Mayeur/ flle, Magnan, E. Maubant, Guillabert, H. Corin. ___ Lebreton, Tucy, Blangarnon. / Comt. Vallée, Dr Pourbain, Latapie, E. Colleville, Roumier, Hoffer, Ollivier / Verchère, Delhaye, Dr Deschamps, Ch. Hofer, Dr Geneirp, Péginissel p, et F. , Pierson, Guérin, Cronnot, de Courmont, Eliot, Fasquelle et filsm Malasamy, Guillaume fils /G Caux, Dabert, Michel p, et f.s, ___Rey. Vaundremer, Girau, general Lipovvski, Ballin, Ersetemenn, Délivré, Lepéné, de Bouillanne, V. Roser, Delbroueth. Pasquet, Treterre, / A. Claris, Thoniel, du Castaings, Pingray, Benjamin, I. Petit, Champon, Destape, Viotlat, F. Percheron, Dr Hubert, A. Aubin, Zimmermann, Vannes, A. Heulard, / Gourlet, Coppin, Hubner, laprandie, Samuel, Séguin, Ménard, Cougoul, J. B. Collignon, Beri L. Besnier, Gillandi. // 9e Année 103e Diner du Bon-Bock (Les 2e Mardi de Chaque Mois). Cotisation 5h50 / Cette invitation est strictement personnelle / Paris 3 8bre 83.
    Bismarck to Alphonse Alphonse, dear annoyance! King shushh from the Uh'lan world I name you Colonel of the looters of pendulums! If this makes the Bon-Bock and Jules angry All the better! But protect your Basque-Uhlan throne well. O. Pradels.
    Dear sir, The 103rd Dinner of the Bon-Bock will take place next Tuesday at 7 pm precisely at the Grape Harvest of Bourgognel, 14, Jessaint street (la Chapelle plaza). If you would do us the honour of coming: Please write to Mr E. Bellot, 37 St Marc street, on Monday night at the latest. Your answer is absolutely mandatory to prepare the place settings (our friends from the theatres excluded.) The 'yes' comes with a payment of the due whether or not you end up attending. Program for our last evening. 1st – H. Covin (piano) a waltz composed by him. 2nd – Courment: Le Chanteur du roi (King's singer) (1st series) by the author. 3rd – Dulin: Rondeau from opera "Le petite mariée" (The Little Bride) 4th – Doublemard: Memory of the bather's beach 5th – "The Saltimbanque family" 6th – Maubant: Romance of "La Traviata". 7th – Étienne Carjat Toast to the Alsace-Lorraine, verses by the author. 8th – Guillabert from the opera "Nantes: le Press mud" by Fauré. 9th – Charles Delacour: the Poet, Sonnet. 10th – "Duke Jean" 11th – Fromentin. Panurge (Mus. of Hervé) 13th – A. Claris "The Hatred" verses by the author, Benty: my lil’ nephew: lyrics by Clouvier, music by Darcier. 15th – Charles Delacour: the lesson in arithmetic. 16th – J.-B.Collegnon, "Fanchette", romance by the author. 17th – Doublemard: the Coach driver (monologue by P. Marzin). 18th – Dulin: the horn music by Flégier. 19th – J.-B. Collignon: "Her name was Marguerite", lyrics by L. Baillet music by Collignon. 20th  – L. Bellot, an announcement from the incoherent arts exhibition curated by Jules Férry. All of our thanks to Mr Henri Covin who played the piano all night and to our Friends Ferdinandus for his sketch that is absolutely bam and to O. Pradels for his quatrain among the most pazazz worthy. We send you our most cordial salutation, Monsieur. E. Bellot, G. Durater, E. Cottin, R. Géner, L. Bocilart, H. Héger, Henner, Jean Brenner, Et. Carjat, Margue, Dulin, Fromentin, H. Stéger, A . Stéger, Ch. Delacour, G. Mayer, Sanzel, Denis Poulot, Bricaire, Doublemard, Vigneron, T. Boulart, L. Mayeur, Mayeur daugter, Magnan, E. Maubant, Guillabert, H. Corin. Lebreton, Tucy, Blangarnon. Comt. Vallée, Dr Pourbain, Latapie, E. Colleville, Roumier, Hoffer, Ollivier, Verchère, Delhaye, Dr. Deschamps, Ch. Hofer, Dr. Geneirp, Péginissel père et fils, Pierson, Guérin, Cronnot, de Courmont, Eliot, Fasquelle et fils Malasamy, Guillaume fils, G. Caux, Dabert, Michel père et fils,  Rey. Vaundremer, Girau, General Lipovvski, Ballin, Ersetemenn, Délivré, Lepéné, de Bouillanne, V. Roser, Delbroueth, Pasquet, Treterre, A. Claris, Thoniel, du Castaings, Pingray, Benjamin, J. Petit, Champon, Destape, Viotlat, F. Percheron, Dr. Hubert, A. Aubin, Zimmermann, Vannes, A. Heulard, Gourlet, Coppin, Hubner, Laprandie, Samuel, Séguin, Ménard, Cougoul, J. B. Collignon, Berti, Besnier, Gillandi. 9th Year 103rd Dinner of the Bon-Bock (The 2nd Tuesdays of Each Month). Due 5:50 pm. This invitation is strictly personal. Paris 3 October 1883. Bismarck hands a certificate for the title of colonel along with a lance, an Uhlan helmet (Polish cavalry) and a sword to a joker. The joker wears a traditional Polish folk hat inscribed with 'XIV' and holds a guitar. ______ Comments: Émile Bellot [L. Bellot] (French, the second half of the 19th century) – engraver, model for a painting by Édouard Manet "Le bon bock", the founder of Le Bon Bock Dinner. Covin, Henri (French, 1845 – 1887) – Musician, arranger. Étienne Carjat (French, 1828 – 1906) – Journalist, caricaturist and photographer. Charles Delacour (French, 18.. – 1898) – Composer. Jean-Baptiste Collignon (French, 18..-1906) – Composer. Ange Flégier (French, 1846 – 1927) – Composer. Joseph Darcier (French, 1819 – 1883) – Composer, singer and actor. Le petite mariée (The Little Bride) – a three-act opéra-bouffe, music by Charles Lecocq, libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. La plage de la Baigneuse – beach of Saint Jean de Monts in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. La Famille du Saltimbanque: L'Enfant Blessé – The Family of Street Acrobats: the Injured Child – painting by Gustave Doré (French, 1832 – 1883) produced in 1873. Henri-Polydore Maubant (1821-1902) – actor, vocalist (baritone) Gabriel Urbain Fauré (French, 1845 – 1924) – French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher. Hervé [Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger] (French, 1825 – 1892) – French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, inventor of the genre of operetta in Paris.  
  • Title: GEORGE CRUIKSHANK'S | OMNIBUS. | ILLUSTRATED WITH ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL | AND WOOD. | "De omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis." | EDITED BY LAMAN BLANCHARD, ESQ. | LONDON : | TILT AND BOGUE, FLEET STREET. | MDCCCXLII. Pagination: ffl, [2] – blanks [i, ii] – blank / engraved t.p. w/guard, [iii, iv] – t.p., colophon] [v], vi – contents, [vii, viii] – h.t. / blank, [ix] – list of etchings on steel, [x] – list of wood-cuts, [2] – blank, frontis. engraves portrait of G. Cruikshank; [1] 2-300 [2] – blanks, bfl; 22 full-page steel engravings (three not by Cruikshank) and 78 woodcuts. As per A. M. Cohn: i-ii+i-viii+1-2+1-300. Binding: 24 x 14 cm, later full red morocco by Kelly and Sons with gilt and embossed designs to covers, designs, title and year lettering to spine, facsimile in gilt of Cruikshank's signature to front cover, gilt line to inner edges, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Armorial bookplate of Harold A. Wernher of Luton Hoo to front pastedown. Major-General Sir Harold Augustus Wernher (1893 – 1973) – British military officer. Originally bound in green, then red cloth, this binding by Kelly and Sons (Packer, Maurice. Bookbinders of Victorian London. London: British Library, 1991 page 84). A. M. Cohn № 190, p. 65-66. Motto translation: (About all things and something more besides).