Susuka j (2 Ergebnisse)

12mo (each ca. 100 x 150 mm). 7 vols., complete. I: 55 ff.; one volvelle. II: 46 ff. with 4 double-page maps; one volvelle. III: 62 ff. with a folding map and a volvelle. IV: 81 ff. V: 97 ff. VI: 94 ff. VII: 113 ff. Leaves mostly folded at the fore-edge in the traditional Japanese way. Each volume with engraved title-page in English and Japanese; nearly every page illustrated, mostly captioned in English, printed by the relief metal-cut method (Bewick's technique). Publisher's original bindings with pictorial boards (Japanese front boards), chromolithographic printing to covers; publisher's gilt logo on the rear covers ("Awoki Szandow Osaka Bookselling"). Black cloth spines. Marbled endpapers. Housed in a modern chitsu case with Japanese and English titles and two horn clasps: stored in two fitted boxes within the case, with ribbons and removable supports. Complete set of rare Japanese travel books (meisho-zue) from the early Meiji phase, featuring pretty illustrations with English captions and movable diagrams in every volume detailing the different time zones, attached by a neat knot of silk. The series takes the reader around the world, offering detailed descriptions and historical insights, along with illustrations printed using a new method (Bewick's technique). - In volume I, Aoki takes his readers to North America, with some mentions of Honolulu and Tokyo. Volumes II and III deal with Western Europe, while Volume IV details Central and Eastern Europe and the Arctic. In volume V, Africa and Australia are illustrated, while India and the Middle East (with views of Mecca and Medina) are described in vol. VI. The final volume is dedicated to Asia, with a focus on China, Burma and Singapore (cf. Franklin, pp. 137-139). - The publication reflects Japan's newly acquired freedom to travel abroad after three centuries of bans. Aoki seized the opportunity to publish an overarching set of 'meisho-zue', with appealing English captions to each image, including a few unfortunate misspellings (for instance, "Strfft of San Francisco", Vol. I, p. 10) or misunderstandings (ostriches presented as camels, Vol. V, pp. 81-83). - The 'meisho-zue' genre developed between the 17th and the 18th century, and, as travel was discouraged even within Japan before the Meiji phase, there would have been slight demand for them at the beginning. As Japan opened to the world, such books offered a unique and effective way to explore other parts of Japan and, with this set, the rest of the world as well. These books were typically illustrated with ukiyo-e or shijo, so the present collection, with its new metal-cut printing method and broader content, was definitely unique and outstanding. - Three volumes contain an interactive volvelle diagram showing the various time zones discussed in it, titled "The Table of Hour of Each Country City". Held by a silk string, a movable paper disk features the names of cities around the world on top of a clock. - A rare and outstanding early Meiji-phase travel book, with admirable illustrations and in good condition. - Minor rubbing and light soiling or staining to boards. Some foxing to interior; some leaves splitting at fore-edge. Volumes erroneously numbered in pencil in top left corner of each front cover. Volvelle in vol. II loose. - 1) Ownership label on rear endpaper "H. W. Cave & Co. Limited Printers" (the bookseller and printer Henry William Cave, 1854-1913, based in Sri Lanka). - 2) Passed down to a French private collection. - Colin Franklin, Exploring Japanese Books and Scrolls (Book Club of California, 1999), pp. 136-140. OCLC 1020931445.…

AWOKI, T. and J. SUSUKA. Sekai ryoko bankoku meisho zue. Illustrated Guide Book for Travellers round the World. Five volumes in seven. Illustrated with hundreds of woodcut illustrations including a volvelle, accompanied by a folding Map of the World in illustrated boards. 145 x 95 mm. each, bound in original publisher's cloth-backed illustrated paper over boards. Osaka: Sanyodo, 1885. A fine set of this scarce Japanese guide to the world which offers a magnificently eccentric vision of the World at the end of the nineteenth century as viewed by the Japanese just as they were coming out of centuries of isolation. A very aesthetic object of great rarity. OCLC lists only a set in the National Library of Australia, a partial set and an odd volume.…