-
First Marquand Library of Art & Archaeology c.1908 -
African American Art Today: Four Major Artists / an exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Skunder Boghossian, Valente Malangatana, Twins Seven Seven, and Amir I.M. Nour. New York:, African-American Institute, 1974.
Category Archives: Japanese
Chronicling Disaster in Mid-19th century Japan
* “It is said that if one natural disaster strikes, a second will occur…“ * So begins the preface to Natural Disasters of the Ansei Period [Ansei fūbunshū], a harrowing chronicle of disasters that took place in Japan during the … Continue reading
Posted in East Asian, Edo period, Japanese, Japanese, Natural Disasters, Rare monograph, Typhoons, Woodblock-printed books
Comments Off on Chronicling Disaster in Mid-19th century Japan
Art Between the Wars: “Seikigun” and Experiments in ‘Synthetic Art’
Marquand Library is fortunate to be the only institution to own a complete 7-issue run of the Japanese serial Seikigun [世紀群], published and hand-distributed in 1949 and 1950 by the artist/writer organization, The Century Association [Seiki no Kai]. The eclectically produced pamphlets were … Continue reading
Posted in 21st Century, Japanese, Japanese, Rare journal, Rare monograph
Tagged 21st Century, Asian Art, Franz Kafka, Japanese, Kobo Abe, sogo geijutsu, Synthetic Art, Teshigahara Hiroshi
Comments Off on Art Between the Wars: “Seikigun” and Experiments in ‘Synthetic Art’
Public and Private Sides of the Kabuki Actor
Woodblock-printed books and single-sheet prints related to the kabuki theatre were in high demand during the Edo period (1615-1868). It is estimated that more than a third of all woodblock prints published during this era were “kabuki prints” (kabuki-e). Like … Continue reading
Posted in East Asian, Japanese, Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 19th century, actors, Asian Art, Edo period, Japanese, Kabuki, Katsukawa Shunsho, portrait, Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Toyokuni, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed books, Yakusha
Comments Off on Public and Private Sides of the Kabuki Actor
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Legendary Imperial Hotel (Teikoku Hoteru): “The Jewel of the Orient”
On September 1,1923, Frank Lloyd Wright’s legendary Imperial Hotel [Teikoku Hoteru] opened to the public for the first time. Located near the emperor’s palace in Tokyo, it was built by the Japanese government to house foreign visitors and guests of … Continue reading
Posted in Art, United States of America, Japanese, Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 1893 Columbian Exhibition, 20th century, Architecture, Asian Art, Byodo-in, Frank Lloyd Wright, Great Kanto Earthquake, Imperial Hotel, Japanese architecture, Japanese Art, Teikoku Hoteru
Comments Off on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Legendary Imperial Hotel (Teikoku Hoteru): “The Jewel of the Orient”
ON DAZZLING JAPAN AND EUROPE IN THE 19TH CENTURY
In 1804, when the book Picture Book Annual Events of the Green Houses (Seirō ehon nenjū gyōji) was published in Japan, who would have guessed that ninety years later it would take Europe by storm? However, by 1891, this two-volume … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 19th century, Asian Art, Edmond de Goncourt, Edo period, Hayashi Tadamasa, Japanese, Jippensha Ikkū, Kitagawa Utamaro, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed books, Yoshiwara
Comments Off on ON DAZZLING JAPAN AND EUROPE IN THE 19TH CENTURY
Banned Books: Kunisada’s “Tales of Genji”
Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864) is often considered the leading woodblock print artist of the 19th century. A “superstar” in his own time, much of his fame and popularity can be credited to his beautiful and dynamic book illustrations parodying the classic … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 19th century, Asian Art, banned books, Edo period, erotica, Genji monogatari, Japanese, Mitsuuji, Nise Murasaki inaka Genji, Rustic Genji, shunga, Utagawa Kunisada, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed books, wrapper
Comments Off on Banned Books: Kunisada’s “Tales of Genji”
‘BIRD WATCHING’: Kitao Masayoshi’s “Illustrated Book of Birds from Abroad” (1793)
Colorful birds on flowering branches fill the pages of a recent acquisition to Marquand Library’s Japanese rare book collection. The serene beauty of its illustrations, however, belies a rather scurrilous publishing history. Illustrated Book of Birds from Abroad [Kaihaku raikin … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 18th century, Birds, Edo period, Keisai, Kitagawa Utamaro, Kitao Masayoshi, Kiyo Ishosai Shusen, mokkotsu, Nagasaki, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed books
Comments Off on ‘BIRD WATCHING’: Kitao Masayoshi’s “Illustrated Book of Birds from Abroad” (1793)
SOMETHING FISHY
New to the Marquand Library is the extremely rare Bounty from the Sea (Umi no sachi), one of Japan’s earliest color-printed books. The artist, Katsuma Ryūsui1 (1711-1796), though rarely credited in the history of the Japanese woodblock print, was experimenting … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 18th century, Edo period, Fish, haiku, Hayashi Tadamasa, Katsuma Ryūsai, printing, Sea creatures, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed books, woodbock printing
Comments Off on SOMETHING FISHY
THE SUBLIME WORK OF TAKEUCHI SEIHO (1864-1942)
Marqund Library recently acquired the beautiful Seiho ippinshū [The Sublime Work of Seiho] (1935-36), which has been called “one of the most magnificent printing achievements of the twentieth century.”[1] It is not actually a “book,” but a luxurious set of … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged 20th century, Collotype, Showa, Takeuchi Seiho, Woodblock prints
Comments Off on THE SUBLIME WORK OF TAKEUCHI SEIHO (1864-1942)
An Unusual “Tōkaidō Road Acquisition”
“Adventure was promised to those who traveled the three-hundred-mile-long Tōkaidō Road, which linked Japan’s modern capital, Edo (present-day Tokyo), with the ancient imperial capital at Kyoto from the seventeenth though early twentieth century. For more than three centuries, illustrated books … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Japanese, Rare monograph
Tagged bunken ezu, early 20th century, Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Tokaido bunken ezu, Tokaido gojusan tsugi, Tokaido Road, Woodblock prints, woodblock-printed handscroll
Comments Off on An Unusual “Tōkaidō Road Acquisition”