Posted by Darrel on April 23, 1998 at 20:41:30:
In Reply to: Japanese Balloon Prints posted by Geoff on April 23, 1998 at 16:22:05:
Prints of hot air balloons were a frequent theme of Yokohama prints which, during their brief heyday (1860-1865, were concerned with Westerners, their clothes, customs, and inventions. The prints you describe (and in that order from left to right) would appear to be a triptych by Yoshitora, one of the most prolific of the artists of the Yokohama school. One of my reference books assigns it the title "Scenes of Balloon Ascensions" and dates it as "Oct. 1872?" This would be considerably later in time than the majority of the Yokohama prints. Since Yoshitora designed a much cruder balloon print in the early 1860's, one would expect this triptych to been printed later in time.
Hope this helps.
Darrel C. Karl
darrel@erols.com