Croquis Japonais par G. Bigot. 1886. Tokio. [Bound with] Le Jour de l’an au Japon.

A$2,400 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

[Tokyo : The artist, 1886]. Two volumes in one, large folio (480 x 330 mm) (as issued), slightly later half burgundy crushed morocco over marbled papered boards ruled in gilt, spine with raised bands and gilt lettering, pastedown with bookplate of Grolier Club Library with its WITHDRAWN stamp, marbled endpapers, original Japanese textured grey paper wrappers bound in; the first work comprises [20] leaves, all with original etchings mostly illustrating Japanese types and their costume but including several landscapes, printed recto only on Japanese paper, some with Bigot s engraved signature; the first leaf is the etched cover to the separately issued work, with the title and imprint Croquis Japonais par G. Bigot. 1886. Tokio ; note that this is one of several variant editions of the same title which has only 19 (not 29) etchings, with the selection of images differing markedly in each of the editions; occasional very light foxing to the leaves and plates, but the exquisite etchings all with strong contrast; the second work, Le Jour de l An au Japon par G. Bigot , comprises [11] leaves, the first a wood-engraved title leaf, followed by 10 original wood engravings in a striking silhouette style mischievously depicting the New Year s Day mishaps of a slightly debauched naval officer in a sequence of scenes that satirise the clash of traditional Japanese and Western cultures; some insignificant spotting, but a fine example of this work. French artist Georges Bigot (1860-1927) liv

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.