Hiroshige

London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., LTD, 1940. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very Good+. 2 vol. Folio. [10], xi-xv, [2], 3-156, [4]; [4] (volume two is largely plates) pp. Each volume bound in paper wrappers (stab-bindings) printed in red, black, orange, and grey, grey sewing thread through the spines. The decorations on the front wrappers include hawks, Mount Fuji, and flowers. Decorative endpapers and pastedowns. Housed in a blue linen folding case with gilt lettering on the front and spine, with two bone clasps. The interior of the case lined with white and blue decorative paper. Volume one illustrated with a colorful wood-engraving frontispiece, a plate, and several in-text images. Volume two with a colorful wood-engraving frontispiece and 99 plates (wood engravings and collotypes). Between the two volumes there are eleven illustrations in color, the rest are done in black and white. Several of the plates in these two volumes are folding plates. Released on the 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese kingdom. 2200 copies of this edition were printed and 300 were sold. Volume one includes a biography of the beloved ukiyo-e master, with commentary on the plates in volume two. A beautiful production, crafted with precision and an intention to celebrate the work of Utagawa Hiroshige, the creator of several classic images in the Japanese artistic canon. A few small splits to the linen on the case. The front wrapper of volume one very slightly foxed.