Dai Nippon Bussan Zue [Products of Greater Japan]

US$2,360.00

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Dai Nippon Bussan Zue [Products of Greater Japan]

[Utagawa], Hiroshige [III] [illustrations by].

Nihonbashi, [Tōkyō ]: Ōkura Magobē, [Meiji 10 (1877)].

An album of thirty woodblock-printed scenes depicting local products from across Japan, from pottery, silkworms, and seaweed to tobacco, soy sauce, and textiles, and the people involved in their production. The series was published in 1877 in connection with the First National Industrial Exposition, held in Tokyo's Ueno Park that year, and is thought to have comprised 118 designs. The highlight of the present copy is arguably the scene depicting a woodblock-printing workshop. It shows a busy studio interior, with the storefront visible in the background displaying woodblock-printed products including books, nishiki-e, and fans. In the central part of the scene, workers carry out various stages of production, including dōsa-biki and paper sizing. In the foreground, women are shown applying finished prints to the ribs of uchiwa fans, while printers work at the left. A handscroll shaped cartouche in the upper right provides a brief description of the materials and processes involved in woodblock printing. An informative record of Japanese domestic products and industries in the early Meiji period, in a vivid and clean impression.

One double-sided accordion-folding (orihon) volume, complete. Original wrappers and daisen title panel intact, lightly soiled. A few small marks internally. Several prints lifting where they have been affixed back-to-back. [Unpaginated]. 17.6 x 12.1 cm.

Dai Nippon Bussan Zue [Products of Greater Japan]
Price: $2,360.00 (USD)