Posted by Darrel on April 21, 1998 at 23:20:35:
In Reply to: Editions of Toraji's 10 Nudes posted by David Koskoff, Dkoskoff@aol.com. on April 03, 1998 at 13:02:18:
I was at least one of those who discussed the multiple editions of prints by Hiroshi Yoshida last year. I don't have the same knowledge about Ishikawa Toraji's prints, unfortunately. In fact, I cannot definitively state whether or not there were multiple editions of his famous Ten Nudes series made in 1934. However, I suspect that there was only one edition, for the following reasons. First, the prints were self-published by Toraji, who was not primarily a print artist and who, as far as I can determine, issued his only prints in the 1930s. He undoubtedly did not have the same sort of studio set-up that Yoshida family did that would be conducive for a large production of reprintings. Second, the censors banned this series in 1935 and reportedly destroyed two of the blocks, which would certain hinder subsequent editions. All the prints from this series which I have seen have been signed in brush with a red seal, so posthumous editions, if they exist, should be easily identifiable.
Hope this helps.
Darrel C. Karl
darrel@erols.com