Japan, Described and Illustrated by the Japanese

Japan, Described and Illustrated by the Japanese. London: The Folio Society, 2012. Magnificent, large-format Limited Edition, numbered 396 out of a total of 980 numbered copies for sale and 20 lettered copies hors commerce.

Specifications

410 × 318 × 45–46 mm. 2 vols (see below). Photographed by Dot Gradations. Printed (with the title-pages in dark red and black) by Butler and Tanner. Bound by Beltz with designs by Neil Gower. Gilded edges. Chiyogami endleaves hand-printed in Japan. First published by J.B. Millet Company in a range of editions between 1897 and 1898, Folio followed the text of the ten-volume de luxe edition, limited to 750 sets, from originals held by The John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, and a set acquired at auction. Neil Gower based his binding designs on those of the Emperor edition. The two volumes are as follows: 

1. Japan, Described and Illustrated by the Japanese, written by eminent Japanese authorities and scholars, edited by Captain F. Brinkley of Tokyo, Japan, with essays on Japanese art by Kakuzo Okakura, Director of the Imperial School at Tokyo, Japan, and a new essay for the Folio Society edition by David Perkins. Pp. [1–2], [i–xiv] xv–xvii [xviii], 1–190, [1–6]: [40] leaves of colour plates. Bound in full red cloth blocked in black, gold and cream. Black cloth slip case titled in gold. Leaf following title-page reads in part ‘limited to 980 numbered copies for sale and 20 lettered copies hors commerce’.
2. Japan, Described and Illustrated by the Japanese, written by eminent Japanese authorities and scholars, edited by Captain F. Brinkley of Tokyo, Japan, with essays on Japanese art by Kakuzo Okakura, Director of the Imperial School at Tokyo, Japan, and a new essay for the Folio Society edition by David Perkins. Pp. [i–xii], 191–398 [399–400]: [40] leaves of colour plates. Bound in full black cloth blocked in red, gold and cream. Red cloth slip case titled in gold.

The 1890s saw the publication of a unique photographic record of Japan. Over 250 hand-coloured photographs show Mount Fuji seen from Kashiwabara, cherry blossoms at Koganei, temples, bamboo groves, rice fields and bridges, as well as street vendors, farmers, school children, calligraphers, geishas and Buddhist monks. It was one of the most ambitious publishing ventures of the 19th century, costing the equivalent of millions today.

More than simply a beautiful book, Japan was a calling-card for a country keen to present itself in the best possible light on the world stage, by showcasing its most picturesque traditions. The new art of photography had arrived just in time to record the last traces of a centuries-old way of life. The result was a work of great artistic and cultural significance.

This Folio Society facsimile is the first to reproduce all 259 hand-coloured photographs, as well as 10 collotypes of flowers and 10 art prints, at their actual size, along with the original text. The binding design is based on that of the ‘Emperor’ edition of 1897.

Condition

A near-fine set with only a little crushing to spine tips, not unusual due to the size of these volumes, and one or two shallow hairline scratches to the gilt edges. In two near-fine slipcase with only a little shelf-wear.