Rinhyō nishiki-shū (Collection of brocade matchbox labels)

US$2,180.00

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Rinhyō nishiki-shū ["Collection of brocade matchbox labels"]

[Kitagawa], Utamarō, [Utagawa], Toyokuni ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

Tōkyō & Ōsaka: Oda ... [et al.], [ca. early Shōwa period (1930s)].

An album of over 1,300 matchbox labels, mostly woodblock-printed, produced in Japan around the 1930s. The labels, which have been produced in themed sets and tipped-in to the album, depict baseball matches, skeletons playing sports, landscapes, actors, scenes from Buddhist mythology, ōtsu-e characters, and so on. Many of the sets were produced by Oda Saku, one of the most prolific collectors of matchbox labels in twentieth-century Japan. While a few of the labels have been removed, there are still over 1,300 examples included. The level of detail in many of the labels and the use of metallic pigments and bokashi gradation show great attention has been paid to the quality of the woodblock carving and printing.

One concertina-bound (orijō) volume, complete. Original boards, with a few scrapes and marks. Handwritten mounted daisen title panel present. Binding split in one place, hinges almost split elsewhere. Occasional tears to labels, several removed, a few loosely inserted, a few tears to others. Labels tipped-in to both sides of album. [25 leaves]. 30.2 x 21.5 cm.

Rinhyō nishiki-shū (Collection of brocade matchbox labels)
Price: $2,180.00 (USD)