文嶺畫譜. [Bunrei gafu]. [Bunrei's Painting Manual]

横浜. [Yokohama].: 法武商会. [Noritake Shokai].. Meij 181885.. Two volumes, Japanese thread binding full page and single page two-colour woodblock prints, 35.5 x 24.5cm.

Volume 1: 4 pages of text, 41 single page images, 6 double page images, and 1 half of a double page image (marked by a star slip); Volume 2: 4 pages of text, 24 single page images, 21 double page images.

First volume: 4 pages of text followed by 24 single page woodblock prints and 21 double page woodblock prints. Second volume: 4 pages of text followed by 41 single page woodblock prints and 7 double page, plus ONE INCOMPLETE DOUBLE PAGE PRINT (ie one page present). There are 93 (only) complete images, plus one "half" image; complete pagination is not possible as the plates are not numbered. We have checked our copy of volume 1 against the Smithonian collection (FSC-GP-780.391,1-2. Volume 1) and Volume 2 against the British Museum's copy (1915, 0823, 0.289.2). The sequence of the plates is very fluid, particularly our Volume 2 and one double page image which appears in the British Museum's Volume 2 appears in our Volume 1. At the time of collating this copy the Diet Library appeared to hold only Volume 1 and again, their page sequence is not the same as ours.

A previous owner has numbered the pages in pencil at a corner or upper edge of each image. The covers are worn and foxed in places and lightly soiled, the paper title label of the second volume has considerable paper loss, a few brush marks below the title labels. Chips and a little paper loss to the interior front cover title sheets, two of the folded sheets have split along the outside edge (not affecting the plates). The plates are all in very good clean condition. Scarce. Exquisite prints of birds and plants in subtle shades of black, grey, salmon, brown, with yellow and pink, drawn by Maekawa Bairei (1837-1917) These two album volumes of bird and flower prints (1881-1884) are here beautifully produced in an impressive large size. These folio volumes, mimicking the impressive folio natural history volumes of nineteenth century Europe, were used to great effect by Japanese natural history artists of the Meiji era. .