BARNETT, Percy Neville.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Souvenir of Glimpses at Ukiyo-ye and Nishiki-ye: Brocade Prints of Japan. Signed limited edition, number 16 of 30 copies signed and numbered by the author, stamped with his red seal, and illustrated with four Japanese woodblock prints, including two of the author's specially carved bookplates.Percy Neville Barnett (1891-1953) devoted the first half of his life to the study of bookplates, publishing several limited editions on the subject. In the 1930s, he turned his attention to Japanese woodblock printing. In 1940 and 1941, he published two lengthy works on the subject - Glimpses of Ukiyo-e and Glimpses of Nishiki-ye - but wartime restrictions confined the editions to 11 and 15 copies only. Barnett produced this Souvenir, first issued in 1942 in a signed limited edition of 50 copies, as a taster for other friends and acquaintances.While an homage, the Souvenir is in itself a work of art and displays the high standard for which Barnett's works are known. "A perfectionist at a time when the second-rate satisfied many people, Barnett chose the best materials available: he procured type-fonts from Germany, used hand-made paper, and imported vellum from England, board from Scotland, silk from China and brocade from Japan" (ANB).Provenance: P. C. Hobson, a collector of Barnett's works and of art books, with his bookplate.

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