Hiroshige

London / Tokyo: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. / Maruzen Co, 1940. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. A beautiful 2 volume study of Hiroshige, with folding woodblock prints, lithographs, and collotype reproductions. The poet Yone Noguchi alludes only briefly to the wartime context in his introduction: "To-day under a tumult and battle-cry the whole world is upset and gloomy; then even for that reason only, I think, it is meaningful to us to reconsider what Hiroshige had done in art, and remind ourselves of a peaceful lovely life that awaits us." Printed in Japan, with wood engraving by S. Watanabe, Tokyo; plates in colour and half-tone by the Kikuchi Sanshoku-koba, Tokyo; collotypes by the Kono Shashin-kogeijo, Tokyo; and typographical work by the Kenkyusha Press. 2 volumes in Japanese stab-bindings, protected in cloth-covered folding case with bone clasps. Wear to the case with loss of cloth to the corners. However the case has done its job beautifully: the two volumes are clean and unmarked. Small bookseller's label in English and Japanese to rear inner panel of case. 12.25 x 9.25". As a large, delicate book, this order will be packed carefully and may incur additional shipping charges.