Costumes and Customs in Japan, Vol. I & II

Ogawa, K . (Kazumasa)

Published by K. Ogawa, Tokyo, 1895

About this Item

[24 Black and White Collotype Plates - The Complete Two Volume Set of this Classic Kazumasa Ogawa Work]. Volumes I and II, large 4to (11 3/4 x 16 in - 30 x 40.5 cm), Meiji 28 (1895), decorated card covers, cord ties, 12 black and white collotype plates per volume. Title states "In Collotype from Photographic Negatives Taken by Him." Collotype plates in Volume I are: 1) Tea picking at Uji, 2) Old court dress, 3) Costume in former times of a daughter of the higher class, 4) Hair-dressing, 5) Battle-dore and shuttle-cock play, 6) Koto playing, 7) The art of flower arranging, 8) The ceremony of "Cha-no-yu." 9) Musical entertainment, 10) A Jinrikisha ride to the flower show, 11) Cotton-spinning and 12) Carpenters at work. Collotype plates in Volume II are: 1) A Japanese Dancing-Girl, 2) A Japanese Dancing-Girl, 3) A Studying the piece, 4) Shinto Vestal Virgins (Kasuga Temple, Nara), 5) Dancing at Koyo-Kwan (Maple Club) in Shiba, 6) Maple-Dance at the Koyo-Kwan, 7) The Toilet, 8) A Letter, 9) Outdoor Winter Costume, 10) Fisher-Maidens, 11) A Family Meal and 12)Sayonara! Each plate is protected by tissue guard and has a descriptive title below the image on the plate. One plate in Volume II - "The Toilet" - is rather unusual for an Ogawa book in that is shows a young lady with no cloths from the waste up. While such photographs were common in the tourist trade of this period, it appears that Ogawa refrained from using them in the books he published. Each book contains a rarely seen slip colophon inserted loose in front of the inside back cover. These colophon slips make it possible to definitively date these books to 1895. Normally books in this set are found without a colophon as none was printed on the a pages actually bound into the book. The book is bound with two cord ties. Each cord tie uses four stab holes and the cord is tied off in an "X" pattern through the holes at the front. ~ Condition. Both books are in Very Good condition. The condition is much better than the norm. The covers have light soiling and minor edge wear, particularly at the corners. There are ca 1cm stain areas in the areas under the cord ties. On Volume II one of the two bottom cord ties is broken. The back cover of Volume II has a 3 x .5 cm scraped area at the bottom edge. The binding of both books is solid and tight. The plates are clean and free of foxing or staining. ~~ Bulky set and extra postage will apply. ~~~ More information, to include digital pictures, available on request. Seller Inventory # 1895070234

Bibliographic Details

Title: Costumes and Customs in Japan, Vol. I & II

Publisher: K. Ogawa, Tokyo

Publication Date: 1895

Condition: Very Good