[Bankokukikan]

Flags.

About this Item

n.p. Shokokan 1853 (Kaei 6). 72x165mm publisher's wrapper (most of the title label gone); [2],44,[2] double leaves, 240 colour maps on 88pp, colour woodcut title, four pages of the text at the start and two at the end. An outstanding copy. A captivating and rare little encyclopedia of world flags. Essential at a time when it seemed that more of them were likely to be seen around Japan. But Japan had a long history of fascination with flags, banners and heraldry; there are no end of such books and manuscripts going back centuries which carry the history of the country, its rulers and wars. So curiosity about the heraldry of the outside world went in tandem with language, history, science . The colophon states this was first published in 1846 but I haven't found any actual copy, only this or the 1854 edition from a different publisher. I did find another book with the same title but it turned out to be an eight leaf manuscript. Cinii finds six entries, three each of the 1853 and 1854 editions and I think all those libraries illustrate their copies online. It's easy to see the book online but you won't see a copy like this.

Seller Inventory # 11343

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Bankokukikan]
• Condition: very good