Posted by Tom Lannen on September 15, 1998 at 23:33:37:
In Reply to: Garage sale prints! posted by Ann D. on August 29, 1998 at 16:32:20:
I have both prints you describe (as well as two others of a similar style), and in excellent condition. They were purchased by a friend's grandmother who was stationed at the embassy in Japan in the early 30's. At the same time, she also bought numerous reprints of Hiroshige, Hokusai and others, all of which have English language descriptions on cards which accompanied the prints. They were clearly made for the Western market. I have a collection of Ukiyo-e, but have never really attempted to identify the prints you describe and they have always been something of a mystery. I had assumed the prints were the work of lesser known Shin-hanga artist(s). In any event, it is interesting that two identical (and relatively unknown) prints show up in two different collections. My wife is Japanese and I will have her carefully inspect the prints to determine artist and origin and post any results. While probably not particularly valuable, they are surely worth more than $6.00.
Best Regards,
Tom Lannen
: Today I paid $6 for two prints at a garage estate sale. The
: previous owner was said to have traveled extensively in Asia.
: I own a few genuine ukiyo-e, so I know what they are supposed
: to look like. I am sure these are real woodblock prints,
: though I can't say whether they are reprints or originals.
:
: One of them looks by style to be 1880-1910 (my best guess). It is an
: image of the back of a man and a woman walking down the street at night.
: The woman is playing a lute; the man is holding what looks
: like a songbook. A couple of people on the street, plus a dog
: and a puppy, and a woman on a balcony are shown in silhouette.
: This piece has been abused: cut to fit a frame then totally
: glued down to paper. The frame backing was held in by old
: cut nails and the outermost backing paper was totally disintegrated, so
: obviously it is fairly old.
: The print itself is moderately toned. I don't know
: whether it would do more harm than good to try to have it
: unglued.
: The other print looks newer (early 20th century?). Dimensions are 38 cm x 25 cm (not
: normal, as I understand?) The image is of several sailing boats in
: a harbor at night. Lights from two boats in the foreground shine
: into the water. Once I got the print out of its horrible little
: frame, I knew it must have been made for the western market because
: on the reverse is written (in English): "All rights reserved.
: Printed by T. Hasegawa, Tokyo". It has some light toning but overall
: is in good shape.
: Both prints have red seals below some black writing, but I don't
: read Japanese.
: I'd just like to know if anyone can tell me any more about these
: prints. Also I'd appreciate any advice on whether to remove the
: first print from its backing paper.
: I don't expect them to be worth a lot, but they are both
: artistically nice and worth more than $6 to me aesthetically!
: :-)
: Thanks,
: Ann