| BookNo picture available | A FABULOUS COLLECTION OF JEWELRY, HATS, SHOES &c… 25 WRIGGLESWORTH, Linda.
EXHIBITION ‘THE ACCESSORY’ CHINA.
London 1991, Wrigglesworth. Purple boards, very good, 43p., profusely illustrated in full color. An exhibition catalogue 3rd April-26th April 1991. S C A R C E This excellent reference covers the marvelous Chinese accessories found by the ruling elite of China under the last imperial dynasty, the Qing 1644-1911. Fashionable to dress, this work shows a vast number of items hitherto not ever found or discussed in other works. Covering such artifacts as shoes, books, hats made of silk, either woven or embroidered, many with rich colors. A century ago a person’s wealth & status in society was indicated by the opulence of their costume, accessories were as important in this respect as the main garments themselves. Hats were in indicator of rank and were not just decorations. Ladies wound their thick black hair into elaborate styles and then decorated it with crowns or hair pins, tiaras or kingfisher feather, coral, pearls & even jade, adding further decorations of precious stones. A good series of shoes for ladies with bound feet are also displayed, gentlemen’s large boots, boat shaped Manchu women’s shoes also covered. The wealthy did not have manual work to do so they grew their nails to extraordinary lengths, as a status symbol. They protected these nails with guards made of gold silver deeply inset with semi-precious stones. This work covers in much detail the above articles, jewelry, silk embroidered sleeve bands, necklaces, ear-rings, beads, hair pins, head-dresses, hair ornaments, purses, tassels, fan & spectacle cases, silk leggings, fabulous lady’s collar necklaces, silk collars, bamboo string vest, theatrical head dresses, under robe, crowns, hats &c. Breath-taking beauty ! | Price: $100 US + s/hContact: jgs@rareorientbooks.com Location: California Posted: March 14, 2000 |
| BookNo picture available | VERY SCARCE COLLECTION OF EARLY COLOR YOKOHAMA PHOTOGRAPHS 24 [TAMAMURA, K[ozaburo].
FIFTY HAND-COLORED ALBUMEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOKOHAMA & JAPAN
IN AN ACCORDION FOLDING ALBUM.
Yokohama c[1880], Tamamura. Brown grass cloth covered album, accordion folded, 18 x 12 cm., photos are 13 x 9 cm., hand-colored albumen, mounted on thick leaves, covers & corners well rubbed, contents as issued, not faded, 50 sharp images. The album is bascially divided into two sections of 25 photos per side. The front or beginning section contains 25 portraits of [Yokohama] Japanese, 19 of women, some studio posed, other studies from natural scenes; one shows two Japanese women-on the right one sits on a foreign chair, the other beside a western style table, with a long table cloth. Two show the women in their elaborate Kimono, preparing to go outside, with elaborate coiffeur, winter dress & umbrella, another playing ‘Battle-dorf” or shuttle-cock for New Years. Women at their chores, washing clothes; on the verandah with a candle, having ones coiffeur done at her toilet, opne stunning posed snow scene in the studio as the woman is in her winter’s best heavy silk Kimono, head cover & umbrella, another in a summer scene with her fan and tea. Others show women at a tea house resting, another does a flower arrangement, women teaching children, another shows two women-one plays the Koto, the other a Shamisen. The verso consists of 25 scenes, with English pencil on some labeling the place name. Beginning with several views of Yokohama: Mississippi [Negishi] Bay, another with the bay & many ships at anchor, the famous causeway opposite of Benten shrine, Miyozaki entertainment district and the great harbor, new city, Honcho Dori, taken from a high vantage point on the cliffs. Early Yokohama railway depot. A pleasure boat with 16 passengers is illustrated in Bennett on p.110, #92: PLEASURE BOAT ON THE SUMIDA RIVER, TOKYO c.1880. Other views of Yokohama and the bay from the Bluff, the quay along Mississippi Bay. Mt. Fuji, farm lands, another states: “Shinbacha near Yokohama 7 miles.” This shows the bay and large ships in the bay back- ground. Temple Osaka & Pagoda. One very early image shows a view of “[YOKOHAMA CANAL].” Not so named on the image, but we have found this view in our reference as a similar view of the same area but done from a different angle. This one was done by Usui Shusaburo c.1880. What makes this image in this album interesting is that Usui shows the same general view, but with several houses. Ours does not show the houses and the trees on the bluff are much smaller, thus indicating an earlier image. Its likely that this photo is about 1-2 years or more earlier than Usui’s. This is view is probably near Negishi & the river to the bay. Others: Tokei Tamagawa, “Swamp Yokohama,” “Fujiyama,” “Mississippi Bay,” “Grave Yard Entrance,” “Yoshiwalla” [sic for Yoshiwara] &c. This album has a label pasted into the front inside with text reading: “Tamamura Photographer No. 2 Bentendori Itchome, Yokohama. Portrait in Card, Cabinet, Imperial Size: &c., also Reproduction and Outdoor Work are Neatly Done” with similar Japanese language tes. It can be deduced from research that Tamamura has used images & negatives from other & different Japanese photographers, a common practice at the time. The true identify of the photographers are quite elusive due to this “passing around” and inter-purchasing of photographs and negatives by places that sold photos & albums to foreign tourists. This exchange between the various seller & photographers greatly clouds the issue. It is possible to get a very close date for this work by the finding other images illustrated & published elsewhere. The one found in Bennett is ca. dated 1880, as is the Usui image. In all likelyhood, this album was actually photographed between 1878-1883, by research, judging from the images & their content. The following are excellent references: M. Winkel: SOUVENIRS FROM JAPAN. T. Bennett: EARLY JAPANESE IMAGES. H. Cortazzi: JAPAN CAUGHT IN TIME. M. Banta: A TIMELY ENCOUNTER 19TH CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHS OF JAPAN. C. Worswick: JAPAN PHOTOGRAPHS 1854-1905. L. Hoerner: EINE FOTOREISE DURCH DAS ALTE JAPAN. JAPANISCHE PHOTOGRAPHIE 1860-1929. ONCE UPON A TIME: Visions of Old Japan. Color scans can be sent by e-mail. | Price: $4500 US + s/hContact: jgs@rareorientbooks.com Location: California Posted: March 14, 2000 |