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Studies from Nature

Kitagawa Utamaro (Illustrator)

Translated by John T. Carpenter

Limited to 500 numbered sets

Essays by John T. Carpenter, Alfred Haft and Alex Kerr

Five hand-crafted books of exquisite Japanese art and poetry in facsimile for the first time

£495.00

Reviews

Average score from 21 Reviews

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Nominated in both the Best British Book and the Limited Edition and Fine Binding categories of the British Book Production and Design Awards

Kitagawa Utamaro’s Studies from Nature, rarely seen and never before reproduced in facsimile, are five superbly bound and illustrated books of insects, shells and birds. The elegant depictions of nature are paired with kyōka; playful, erudite and often erotic poems on the sentiments of love. Limited to just 500 hand-numbered sets, this remarkable publication includes a commentary volume with a full translation and newly commissioned essays on the poetry, the artist and the culture of the Floating World.

Production Details

Facsimiles

Two volumes of The Book of Crawling Creatures Japanese sewn binding
Gifts of the Ebb Tide and two volumes of The Book of Myriad Birds concertina binding
All volumes bound in Twist paper printed with original designs redrawn by Neil Gower
Printed paper labels with titles in English and in Japanese script
Illustrations and poems printed on Papermilk paper
100 pages in total
10¾˝ x 8¼˝
Limitation certificate wrapped in Watermark Unryu White Japanese paper

Commentary

Bound in Twist paper blocked in gold
160 pages printed on Abbey Pure paper

Presentation box

Cloth-covered presentation box lined with paper printed to complement the bindings and tied with grosgrain ribbon
Paper label with title in English and in Japanese script

Masterpieces of the printer’s art

‘THE BOOK OF CRAWLING CREATURES’

‘Gifts of the Ebb Tide’

‘The Book of Myriad Birds’

Fascinating commentary

What makes this limited edition so special

Ten years ago, one of our editors visited an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge that featured a selection of their most remarkable 18th-century Japanese woodblock prints and publications. At its centre was Kitagawa Utamaro’s Studies from Nature. The flawless illustrations, elegant bindings and exquisite calligraphy were instantly appealing and further enquiries followed. Though these five books were perfect candidates for a limited edition, it was obvious that creating faithful reproductions would be challenging.

Our production director gathered a team of paper makers, craft printers and specialist binders and the work began. After months of trials Smith Settle, a Yorkshire-based printer and hand-bindery, perfected the use of subtle embossing to reproduce the texture and intricate details of the shell ridges and bird feathers in the original books. Pureprint, a reprographics house based in East Sussex, then found a means of representing the mica sheen used to suggest iridescent insect wings and the natural sheen of wet shells. To replicate the first editions as closely as possible, all Utamaro’s illustrations have been printed on Papermilk paper which has the softness of that used originally as well as long milk fibres which give it exceptional strength.

The binding styles, both Japanese and concertina, have been faithfully reproduced by Smith Settle. The cover paper, Twist, was chosen for its texture and though the designs on the original books were somewhat faded and worn, award-winning artist Neil Gower has recreated them with great sensitivity. Each of the titles, as well as the set as a whole, features a printed paper label designed by Japanese calligrapher Kashuu. Various styles of Japanese script are used in the original books but, after carefully examining all the different characters, Kashuu adopted the Kai-sho style to unify the elements. The hand-numbered limitation certificate is wrapped in the softest Watermark Unryu White Japanese paper and this, with all six volumes, is presented in a single cloth-covered folding box, secured with grosgrain ribbon, and made by hand by G. Ryder & Co Ltd in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. The design printed on the paper lining of the box refers to the cover of The Book of Crawling Creatures but is in dark blue and gold to complement the set.

Both the original books and the facsimiles are works of art and The Folio Society is delighted that the result of a long and complex collaboration is truly faithful replicas of such beautiful treasures.

Reviews Powered By

Average Score for 21 Review(s)

This is an amazing Limited Edition! Such wonderful artwork! The presentation is beautiful.

Review by MR MICHAEL BOYCE on 31st December 2020
I have heard so much about Japanese prints. This was excellent.

Review by MR ERIC MATHEWS on 17th July 2020
Delighted to have purchased this limited Edition Folio Society book. The quality and craftsmanship is second to none. One of the best Limited Editions even produced by the Folio Society.

Review by MR MICHAEL COUGHLAN on 10th July 2020
This is a most attractive publication which is a pleasure to own. The facsimile volumes are a real treat to look through in the company of the excellent companion volume. I applaud the Folio Society for identifying ways to reproduce in facsimile some of the subtleties of Japanese woodblock prints. I can quite appreciate that it may have been one of the most complex book production tasks undertaken by the Folio Society. Good job, Folio Society!

Review by Dr Ian Rodgers on 7th July 2020
Work of art , having it is like having a small muesuem.

Review by Mr Abbas Hayat on 19th June 2020

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Production Details

Masterpieces of the printer’s art

‘THE BOOK OF CRAWLING CREATURES’

‘Gifts of the Ebb Tide’

‘The Book of Myriad Birds’

Fascinating commentary

What makes this limited edition so special

Reviews Powered By

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