Collection of matchbox labels. Rinhyo nishiki-shu ("A Brocade Collection of Matchbox Labels").

GRAPHIC DESIGN, Japanese.

Published by Tokyo: [Rinshikin Shukai,] 1920-34

A vibrant collection of pre-war matchbox labels produced by the Rinshikin Shukai, Japan's first society for matchbox collectors. The bold designs show kabuki actors, geisha, Buddhist deities, baseball players, famous ukiyo-e prints, vistas of capital cities, and even wartime propaganda. This album opens with 100 labels on untrimmed sheets, each one submitted by an individual member of the Rinshikin Shukai. The labels are then divided into sets. Many are after famous prints by the likes of Kitagawa Utamaro and Sharaku, but the majority are fresh designs. One charming set is titled "Sports in the Afterlife" and shows silver skeletons playing a variety of sports. The wartime examples depict cartoon soldiers firing missiles, piloting aircraft, and wading through rivers. One set commemorates the "Three Brave Bombers", a group of soldiers lionized for breaking through the Chinese lines during the Shanghai Incident and setting off suicide bombs. The Rinshikin Shukai was formed in 1903 by Fukuyama Hekisui (1876-1934) for those interested in collecting, designing, and distributing matchbox labels. In 1907, it held a sponsored display at the Tokyo Industrial Exhibition, where thousands of labels designed by Hekisui were distributed. Over the following 30 years, Hekisui's personal collection grew to exceed 200,000 examples, designed by prominent members such as Furuya Rankei, Hasegawa Giichiro, Ogawa Saku, and Oda Shuichi. Upon his death in 1934 the society produced a commemorative label that is pasted at the front of this album. Quarto, concertina-style. With 1,323 colour woodblock matchbox labels (60 x 42 mm to 117 x 78 mm, 100 on tipped-in and untrimmed sheets, 2 loosely inserted), 10 letterpress labels, mounted on recto and verso of 26 leaves (2 sides blank); many printed on mica-speckled paper, text in Japanese. Original brown thick card boards, original manuscript paper label on front board. Labels bright, a couple with loss, a few seemingly missing, boards rubbed, 2 joints repaired with Japanese tissue: a well-preserved collection. Seller Inventory # 186580

Bibliographic Details

Title: Collection of matchbox labels. Rinhyo ...
Publisher: Tokyo: [Rinshikin Shukai,] 1920-34