Four remarkable double-page & seven full-page woodcuts in Vol. I. Four vols. Small 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers (upper cover of first vol. soiled), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Edo: Tsuruya Kinsuke, 1811.

First edition of one of the two most famous fictional works by Shikitei and his student Basho Rakutei. The writings of Shikitei “are generally recognised as the best guide to the speech of the period. Describing the speech of Edo people, Shikitei [in the present work] makes a distinction between what he calls Hon-Edo (‘Proper’ Edo) and Edo-Namari (‘Corrupt’ or ‘Common’ Edo). Hon-Edo was... More