On How to Read a Western Clock

Shinhen Seiyō Tokei Benran [新編西洋時計輯覧]

Tsuji, [Masakari?] [selections by].

[S.l.: s.n.], Meiji 2 [1869].

 

A charming early Meiji period chart on the reading of western clock faces. The change in Japan from the old lunar  calendar to the Gregorian calendar was made in November of Meiji 5 [1872], several years after the publication of  this chart. This chart was therefore quite literally `before ...

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Two Sets of Postcards by an Ainu Artist

Kamui no Mori [カムイの森] and Kotan no Kaze [コタンの風]

Tejima, Keizaburō. [Asahikawa, Hokkaido?]: Baihōdō, [ca. 1980s?]. Two sets of black and white postcards, probably offset-printed, of woodblock-printed illustrations of animals  and Ainu people by artist Tejima Keizaburō (1935-). The first set, `Kamui no Mori`, contains six postcards of  birds, animals, and fish native to Hokkaido. The second set, `Kotan no Kaze` ...

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A Record of the First International Photographic Salon in Japan, with Images by Australian Photographers

The First International Photographic Salon of Japan, Under the Auspices of the All Japan Association of Photographic Societies

The Asahi Shimbun Pub. Co.

Osaka and Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun, Shōwa 2 [1927]. First edition.

The catalogue for an extraordinary event held in Tokyo and Osaka in 1927, `The First International Photographic  Salon of Japan`. The Salon comprised `at least 1,000 photographic works from home and abroad, was held in the  exhibition hall of the Tokyo Asahi Building for two ...

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The Catalogue of a Sidney Nolan Exhibition in Tokyo

Bunmei wo Warau Kaiga no Shizenji: Shidonii Nōran ; Sidney Nolan (文明をわらう絵画の自然児： シドニー・ノーラン)

Fuji Terebi Gyarari. [Tokyo]: Sankei Shimbun Co. Ltd. ; Fuji Telecasting Co., 1973. First edition. The catalogue of an exhibition of the works of Australian artist Sidney Nolan in Japan, patronised by the Australian  Embassy in Tokyo. The exhibition was held from the 10th until the 28th of April, 1973, at the Fuji Television  Gallery in Tokyo, and included 26 of Nolan`s mixed media ...

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A Highly Pictorial Book on Australia and New Zealand

Gōshū Nanpō Tairiku Oyobi Nyūjīrando Chōhakuun [濠洲(南方大陸)及新西蘭(長白雲)]

Tsuchiya, Motosaku. Osaka: Asahi Shinbunsha, Taishō 5 [1916]. First edition. A detailed photographic record of the culture and geography of Australia and New Zealand, for Japanese readers, with many black and white photographic illustrations of the native animals, landscapes, cities, and indigenous peoples of the two countries. The book includes images of famous Australians, the Melbourne ...

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The Menu of the 'Japanese Night' Dinner Attended by Oscar Wilde and His Lover

Ye Sette of Odd Volumes, Limmer's Hotel, Friday, June the Third, 1892

[London]: Ye Sette, 1892.

 

The menu of the `Japanese Night` dinner held in 1892 by members of Ye Sette of Odd Volumes (an English club of  bibliophiles founded by book dealer Bernard Quaritch in 1878) and attended by many members of the Japan Society.  The night is known to have been attended by, amongst others, Narinori Okoshi, Captain Y. Kawara, Arthur Diosy,&n ...

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An Edo Period Hanging Scroll of a 'Red-Haired' Couple

[Nagasaki?],  ca. Edo period [17th-19th century]. An Edo period illustration of a "red-haired" couple, hand-painted in colour on paper by an unknown artist and mounted as a kakejiku (hanging scroll). A sticker on the accompanying wooden box reads, in English, `Dutch Couple, Backs Turned`. A sticker on the other end of the box reads, in Japanese, `No text or signature. Doro-e danjo k ...

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A Manuscript Scroll of Feathers

Ca. Edo period [mid to late 18th century]

 

A hand-painted scroll of different types of feather used in traditional Japanese arrow-making. An illustration of a falcon appears at the beginning of the scroll, and 74 types of feather follow, hand-painted in black ink. The feathers, which feature stripes, dots, and, in one place, even small human faces, would have been used ...

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On Bromoil Printing, by a Japanese Member of the Sydney Camera Circle

Buromuoiru Ingahō (ブロムオイル印画法)

Ishida, Kiichirō Tokyo : Arusu, Shōwa 5 [1930]. First edition. A technical text by Japanese photographer Ishida Kiichirō (1886-1957) on how to print photographs using his own bromoil process, illustrated with plates of photographs by the author. Ishida, at that time an employee of the Okura Trading Company, came to Sydney in 1919, where he met photographer Ichir ...

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