Finely illustrated album, entitled on manuscript label on upper cover “Asagao fu” [“Pictures of Morning...
15 folding leaves. 8vo (290 x 2000 mm.), orig. yellow semi-stiff wrappers (wrappers a little soiled), new stitching. [Japan: late Edo].
Morning glories, first brought into Japan by the Chinese, were originally used for medicinal purposes, as a laxative. But soon the Japanese cultivated them as ornamental flowers. During the Edo period, morning glories became very popular and the subject of aesthetic admiration. Much like the “tulip mania” in 17th-century Holland, Japan experienced several morning glory booms in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Japanese horticulturalists have been the leaders in cross-breeding the flowers to develop new varieties.
The anonymous... More