[Japan]: 1583-mid-Edo, but we believe these are later copies.

The Nagahashi no tsubone 長橋局 (“room at the long bridge”) was a powerful administrative office within the Imperial Court in Kyoto, located close to the Seiryōden (the emperor’s private residence). Headed by a woman, who was the senior secretary of the Bureau of Palace Attendants (Kōtō no naishi), the office was in charge of the imperial household accounts and controlled communications and negotiations between the palace and the outside world.

Because the emperor rarely wrote official executive orders, this activity was taken on by the Nagahashi no tsubone’s office, which issued... More

Numerous woodcuts throughout. 55 folding leaves. Tall narrow agenda format (223 x 76 mm.), orig. decorated wrappers, new stitching. Kyoto: Metogiya sōhachi めとぎや宗八, 1816.

Second edition; the first edition appeared in 1764. The art of cutting cloth for accuracy of fit and minimizing the amount of fabric used employs complex geometrical calculations. Efficient cutting layouts require clear markers to indicate how patterns will be placed on the fabric and skillfully cut. In Edo-era Japan, bolts of fabric (ittan 反) were standard in size: 35-40 cm. wide and 12 meters long, exactly enough for one kimono. The author explains that for... More

Facsimile musical score. [4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet, folded for mailing. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1972.

The gallery’s 49th bulletin, produced for an exhibition by the Dutch composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist Willem Breuker (1944-2010). In excellent condition. Addressed to journalist Lily van Ginneken.

|| J. de Goede & L. Pelsers, Art & Project. A History (2023) E059. More

Black & white full-bleed illus. [4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet, horizontal folds for mailing. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1971.

The third Art & Project bulletin by Dibbets (b. 1941) presenting a still from his film Louverdrape (1971). In fine condition. Addressed to journalist Lily van Ginneken.

|| J. de Goede & L. Pelsers, Art & Project. A History (2023) E056. More

Double-page black & white photographic illus. [4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet, horizontal folds for mailing. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1971.

A rare mailed example of Bas Jan Ader’s first Art & Project bulletin, edition of ca. 500-800. This copy is addressed to journalist Lily van Ginneken. In excellent condition.

❧ J. de Goede & L. Pelsers, Art & Project. A History (2023) E053.

Bas Jan Ader: Please don’t leave me (2013 ed.) 44. More

Black & white facsimile illus. & text. Large folded sheet. Chicago: Wabash Transit Gallery, [1972].

A poster announcing the mail art exhibition co-curated by artists Ray Johnson (1927-95) and Julia Schmitt Healy (b. 1947). The recipients of the poster are encouraged to tear the blank half off, add their own contribution, and return it to the gallery to be part of the show. Near fine, small tears at the creases. || “Exhibitions” page on the Ray Johnson Estate website (accessed 31 August 2026). More

Black & white portrait of the artist. Single sheet, folded for mailing. Chicago: Richard Feigen Gallery, 1968.

The rare poster announcing Johnson’s third solo exhibition with Richard Feigen; it features a close-up portrait of the artist, originally taken by photographer Joe Filzen. The Ray Johnson Estate records the name of this show as “A Lot of Shirley Temple Post Cards Show.” In excellent condition, unrecorded by WorldCat.

|| “Exhibitions” page on the Ray Johnson Estate website (accessed 28 August 2026). More

Woodblock-printed. Numerous full-page & double-page woodcuts. [1], 2, 4, 31, [4], 46; 46, [2], 40; 50, [3], 47; 17, 1, 32, [3], 33 folding leaves. Nine juan in four vols. 8vo (150 x 235 mm.), old wrappers with handwritten titles & juan number on upper covers, old stitching. Shanghai: Saoye shanfang, 1885.

First Saoye shanfang edition. Generously illustrated with hundreds of woodcuts, Yuan and Heng’s Collection is the most popular and influential work of Chinese veterinary medicine, covering all aspects of equestrian medicine as well as the diagnosis and treatment of cattle and camels. First published in 1608, the work... More

Woodblock (218 x 168 mm.). [Japan]: late Edo.

This text of this woodblock, accompanied by recent print-offs of both sides on two sheets of paper, announces the new office locations of the courier service Kago roku, which transported both valuables and goods between the Nara and Osaka regions. The flyer announces that the younger generation had succeeded in the business and were able to deliver day and night. We learn that they were capable of transporting gold, silver, bills of exchange, other precious items, luggage, and general goods, as they advertise in this flyer, entitled “Kingin nimotsu chūya hikyaku” 金銀荷物大和昼夜飛脚... More

Double line borders on three sides, ten columns per page, 20 characters per column. 35 folding leaves. Two kan in one vol. 8vo (270 x 180 mm.), orig. wrappers stained dark brown with fermented persimmon juice to prevent worming (nevertheless, wrappers a little wormed), new stitching. [Japan]: [ca. 1615-44].

One of two known copies of a rare movable type or kokatsujiban edition, not in Kawase, Sorimachi, NIJL, or WorldCat. Our copy is the same edition as that in the Daitōkyū kinen bunko 大東急記念文庫 of the Gotoh Museum.

The Shi bu’ermen zhiyaochao 十不二門指要鈔 (Preface dated 1004, T. 1928) is an explanation... More

27 leaves (257 x 360 mm.), written on the author’s genkō yōshi 400 字詰原稿用紙 (400-character writing paper). [Japan]: 1974.

Uno Chiyo (1897-1996) was a prominent feminist author and kimono designer who made many contributions to fashion, film, and literature. In the 1920s “flapper” era, as an admirer of American and European cultures, she was one of the first Japanese women to adopt the bobbed hairstyle. She was a member of the Bohemian circles of writers, poets, and painters in Tokyo and lived an unconventional life, distancing herself from traditional roles. Her many novels dealt frankly with her numerous love affairs... More

Manuscript on paper, annotated throughout in black, blue, & red ink. 3, 20, 20, 20, 20, 8; 20, 20, 20, 18 folding leaves. Two kwŏn in two vols. Small folio (342 x 213 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers with decorative stripes & handwritten title on upper covers (slightly stained & rubbed), old stitching. [Korea: after 1775].

This handsome large-format Korean manuscript is a sola scriptura version of the Classic of Poetry, richly annotated throughout with exegetical, lexical, and grammatical (sundok-kugyŏl 順讀口訣) glosses, in a mix of hanja and han’gŭl. The unusually extensive handwritten marginalia provide a rare glimpse into how a.... More