Illus. by Kuninao & Kunimaro Utagawa. Numerous color and black & white illus. in the text. 15 vols. Small 8vo, orig. decorative color-printed semi-stiff wrappers (some rubbing), orig. block-printed title labels on upper wrappers, orig. stitching. Edo: 1841.

First edition and a rare complete set of this erotic novel. Tamenaga (1790-1844), is most famous for his series of romantic novels — of which this is one — mainly written in the 1830s in the genre of ninjobon which focus on young love and were generally aimed to attract female readers (but plenty of men read them, too).

This most attractive set of volumes was illustrated by Kuninao Utagawa (1793-1854), a student of Toyokuni and deeply influenced by Hokusai. Kuninao worked in Edo and illustrated many books. See Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, pp. 789-90 & 821. Kunimaro Utagawa also produced illustrations for this novel. More

Japan: “1767.”

This is a collection of unfinished drawings of plants and flowers executed by one artist, whose pen name is, perhaps, “Monou” or “Momonou” (depending on how you read the kanji). The drawings range from simple outlines to highly finished paintings of considerable delicacy. The flowers include wild orchids, peach and cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, okra, tea bushes, primrose, camellia, clematis, aconite, and various other flowers from all seasons.

In nice condition. More

Japan: late Edo.

A rare survival of a woodblock employed in the printing of a Japanese illustrated travel book from the late Edo period. The scene takes place in a famous pine forest in Hyogo prefecture (west of Kyoto), along Sumiyoshido, a pilgrimage route. In this forest, every three years, two groups of sparrows, one local, the other from a neighboring prefecture, would engage in a large aerial battle, a spectacle which attracted many tourists.

The aristocrat (furthest to the right), wearing a hat characteristic of the nobility (eboshi), and highly decorated day-time attire (sokutai), is in the forest. His... More

Eighty fine double-page hand-colored woodcut plates. Four vols. 8vo in orihon format, orig. silk over boards, printed title labels on upper covers (the first label discolored). Kyoto: Unsodo, 1914-15-15-22.

First edition of this “very beautiful book of shells” (Hillier), with hand-colored woodcuts of 400 specimens. Hirase (1859-1925), was a scholar, collector, and dealer in shells in Kyoto. He published a short-lived journal called “The Conchological Magazine” and in 1913 opened the first museum devoted to shells in Japan which, according to Dance, was also “probably the first of its kind in the world” (p. 221). Hirase had an... More

63 pp. 8vo, attractive modern marbled boards, paper lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Remy & Delalande, 1789.

A very rare catalogue describing a vast collection of mostly prints and albums of prints. The 328 lots, many of which consist of more than a dozen items, include the work of Ammon, Visscher, Bourdon, Audran, Poilly, G. Edelinck, Dürer, Bloemart, Goltzius, Bosse, Callot, Lebas, Choffard, etc. The prints are generally after pieces by famous artists such as Rubens, Hollar, Raphael, Rembrandt, and the Sadelers. Many of the recueils, which are well-described, contain original prints by the artist and, when factoring in copies, number about 1000 prints... More

3 p.l., [41]-120 pp. (lacking pp. 1-40). 8vo, 19th-century blue pebbled cloth-backed marbled boards (spine a little worn), spine gilt. [Rotterdam: Burgvliet & Bothal, 1788].

A very rare sale catalogue, annotated in a contemporary hand with buyers’ names, that provides valuable insight into the growing French interest for 17th and 18th century Dutch art and the primary dealers and runners who acted as agents for the voracious collectors of France. The sections of books (303 lots) and coins were not bound in this copy, but the art portion of 863 lots is complete.

The contemporary annotations in this copy reveal the names of Dutch dealers and collectors of the day, such as van Dongen, Cremer, Heybroek (likely the son of the consigner), van der Laan, van der Pals, Robbens, Burgvliet, Bothal, etc. Another name which frequently appears is that of Jan (or Jean) Yver (1747-1814), an important art dealer in Amsterdam. With his father, Pierre (or Pieter), who died in 1787, they were two of the earliest Dutch dealers to develop an international clientele, which included Louis XVI, Joshua Reynolds, and Stanislaw Poniatowski, King of Poland, as well as many other members of the European upper class. This sale also came at a time when, thanks to the efforts of the famous dealers Jean Baptiste Pierre Lebrun and Edmé Gersaint before him, the French had developed an almost extreme passion for Northern painting. French dealers, several of whom are named here, exploited this opportunity by purchasing directly at Dutch auctions and then importing them to France. More

24 full-page woodcut illus. 17 folding leaves. Small oblong 8vo, orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat defective), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, new stitching. Kyoto: Iseya Shosuke et al., 1790.

First edition and very rare; no copy in WorldCat. Following Japan’s 1609 invasion of the Ryukyu Kingdom (today’s Okinawa), the Kingdom became a vassal to the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma and was expected to make periodic diplomatic visits to the shogunate in Edo to pay tribute. During the Edo period, there were 18 such diplomatic missions (Edo nobori or “the going up of Ryukyu to Edo”) which included royal princes, high-ranking government... More

Numerous full-page or double-page color-printed woodcut illus. 27 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. wrappers (a bit rubbed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (again, a bit rubbed), new stitching. Osaka: Senritei et al., 1831.

First edition of this handsome color-printed woodcut book and a wonderful example of karazuri (blind-printing) which makes fine Japanese illustrated books so pleasing. We find no copy in WorldCat.

“Another artist with greater affinities to Shijo than Ukiyo-e is Katsura Seiyo (1786-1860), but he was a prolific designer of prints for kyoka books…he had an obvious appreciation of book design, and he enhanced many a kyoka that would... More

Engraved allegorical frontis. by Daniel Chodowiecki. Woodcut illus. & printed music in the text, including several folding leaves of printed music in the pagination. xii, 568 pp.; 2 p.l., [569]-1287, [8] pp. Two vols. Large 4to, fine cont. marbled polished sheep (minor browning), flat spines richly gilt, red & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. Leipzig: Heirs of M.G. Weidemann & Reich, 1771-74.

First edition, and a lovely set, of this encyclopedia of the fine arts, “one of the most widely consulted and frequently cited works on aesthetics of the German Enlightenment…Aimed at a popular market of art-loving amateurs (Leibhaber) who lacked specialist knowledge... More

2 p.l., 32 pp. Large 4to, cont. red morocco (three corners a tiny bit worn), sides richly gilt, spine gilt, “bunt-papier” endpapers, a.e.g. London: C. Ackers for R. Knaplock, 1727.

First edition, large and thick paper copy, handsomely bound in contemporary red morocco, sides and spine richly gilt. Potter (1673 or 1674-1747), was later Archbishop of Canterbury. His “whig principles, which expressed themselves…in his firm commitment to the Hanoverian succession and the new administration, ensured that he became a regular preacher at court and at Westminster. He was later to preach at the coronation of George II and Queen Caroline... More

Four vols. & three supplement vols. 8vo, cont. marbled boards (extremities a little worn), orange vellum lettering pieces on spines. Nuremberg: M.J. Bauer, 1770-71-71-72-74-74-91.

First edition of this bibliographical catalogue of rare books, compiled by Bauer (1706-72), a bookseller in Nuremberg. It has many of the characteristics of the other such German compilations of the 18th century: it is arranged alphabetically with a prefatory discussion on the nature and causes of rarity in books and lists primarily Protestant theology, the Greek and Latin classics, a good selection of historical and geographical writings, and, except for... More

Oblong thick 8vo, orig. padded silk cloth binding. [Japan]: 1898.

A rare collection of 32 albumen photographs taken by Toshimo Mitsumura (1877-1955), the famous commercial photographer and printing entrepreneur; one of the greatest industrialists of the Meiji period, he is also highly esteemed today as a photographer. These photographs represent some of his earliest efforts. Mitsumura’s photographs have always been highly regarded and are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

A native of Kobe, Mitsumura purchased his first camera at the age of 14 and quickly became... More