Description: 博物志 : 隨筆・写真 / Hakubutsushi: zuihitsu shashin (Records of Nature: Essays and Photographs) Author: 恩地孝四郎 (Koshiro Onchi) (Text and Photographs by) Title: 博物志 : 隨筆・写真 / Hakubutsushi: zuihitsu shashin (Records of Nature: Essays and Photographs) Publication: 東京 (Tokyo): 玄光社 (Genkosha), 1942 Edition: Limited First edtion Description: Hardcover. 1/1500. Quarto (10 1/4 x 7 1/2"). [2], 141, [3]pp. Original red-lettered illustrated dust-jacket over silver-lettered tan cloth. Title page in orange and black lettering. Book housed in its original printed cardboard slipcase, itself housed in a later olive cloth slipcase. Scarce and unusual work by Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955), a noted Japanese print-maker, photographer, and one of the fathers of the Sosaku-hanga movement* in the early decades of 20th-century Japan.Lavishly illustrated throughout with 107 b/w in-text photographic reproductions, "Hakubutsushi" (Records of Nature: Essays and Photographs) is a stunning tour de force, as it shows the author's incredible ability to see abstract and surreal beauty in the natural environment. The first 83 pages show photographs of various plants, followed by photographs of insects, reptiles, fishes, birds, cats and cows (pp. 84-130), and ends with pictures of animals in a zoo (pp.131-139). Some of the stark close-up portraits of plants are reminiscent of Karl Blossfeldt's work. Onchi's acoompanying text is comprised of comtemplative essays and childhood remenices on his various subjects, also describing their meanings for him. The work was printed in a limited number of 1500 copies, and has been considered quite unsual for a book of this type to have been published in Japan during the WWII period. The front free endpaper contains a an inscription written in black marker, in Japanese, to the previous owner of the book. Original cardboard slipcase sunned. Light water-staining along joints and spine of dust-jacket. Upper corners bumped, thus slightly affecting pages throughout. Text in Japanese. Modern slipcase in very good, original slipcase in good-, dust-jacket in good- to good, binding and interior in very good condition. Quite scarce. g- to vg. * Sosaku-hanga (創作版画 "creative print") was an art movement in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 jiga), "self-carved" (自刻 jikoku) and "self-printed" (自刷 jizuri). As opposed to the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement that maintained the traditional ukiyo-e collaborative system where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor, creative print artists distinguished themselves as artists creating art for art's sake. (From Wikipedia). Seller ID: 42263 Subject: Photography We offer a broad selection of rare, out-of-print and antiquarian books with an emphasis on photography, architecture, art, Judaica, Bibles, Weimar Germany and the Third Reich, modernism, Olympic Games, erotica and foreign-language works, especially German, Hebrew, Polish and Yiddish. Terms All orders ship within two business days. Standard mail is USPS Priority Mail. All items are guaranteed to be as described or they may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.This listing was created by Bibliopolis.
Price: 1250 USD
Location: Santa Monica, California
End Time: 2024-09-02T17:58:34.000Z
Shipping Cost: 20 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Return policy details:
Author: 恩地孝四郎 (Koshiro Onchi) (Text
Publisher: 玄光社 (Genkosha
Year Printed: 1942
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Dust Jacket
Binding: Hardcover
Language: English
Original/Facsimile: Original