Nippon seihin zusetsu: zasshu kaiso  [Illustrated Products of Japan: Hybrid Seaweeds].

£500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A beautifully printed book highlighting the beauty and varieties of Japanese seaweed ( kaiso ). The Illustrated Products of Japan series was an effort by the Ministry of Home Affairs to highlight the best of Japanese products that could be attractive for foreign countries to import. The present book is the third volume in the series, alongside books on the themes of nishiki-e woodblock printing, konbu seaweed and kanten agar jelly, nori seaweed and finally sea salt. Clearly there was an emphasis on coastal products of Japan, as well as highly skilled printing. In the present volume, we are introduced to 29 types of kaiso seaweed with beautifully colour printed illustrations showing some of these varieties. Very first edition was printed in Meiji 10 [1877], this is the second edition. Scarce in commerce.

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