A Mirror of Yoshiwara Beauties

1916 (reprint edition)

Not on view

The Met acquired one of the finest known first editions of this volume when it brought in the entire collection of the Arthur and Charlotte Vershbow Collection of Japanese illustrated books in 2013. This much later modern printing is simply a work for studying how the awareness of a rare edition of a highly sought after book was kept alive in modern times through the printing of a popular edition. In this day and age, we can easily make digital reproductions of books, but even in the early twentieth century, publishers often resorted to the labor intensive means of woodblock printing to create new editions of famous books.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

青楼美人合姿鏡
Title: A Mirror of Yoshiwara Beauties
Artist: Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese, 1726–1792)
Artist: Zuga Kankō-kai
Period: Taishō period (1912–26)
Date: 1916 (reprint edition)
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock printed book (Japanese-style binding), ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 11 7/8 × 8 3/8 in. (30.1 × 21.3 cm)
Classification: Illustrated Books
Credit Line: Gift of Anita V. Beenk, 2016
Object Number: 2016.751.6a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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