The Art of Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Woodblock Prints and Books in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

First Edition, 1985. 570 pages. Books measures 10 x 13.25 inches. Red cloth. Two volumes in black slipcase. Illustrated throughout with black and white & color illustrations.

The Japanese word surimono means "a printed object". During the 1760s, it began to be applied to a new form of woodblock print whose popularity lasted well into the nineteenth century: the privately commissioned print, published in a limited edition for distribution among a circle of friends or associates. Most surimono fall into one of two categories: those which commemorate a special event and those which combine a picture with verse. Both types incorporate a written text, and one of the most rewarding qualities of surimono lies in the extraordinary subtlely (especially in verse surimono) with which the artist complements with his imaginary the content of the text, so that picture and words together yield a richer experience than either could create independently. The advent of surimono coincided with major advances in color-printing, and the form was to attract artists to the stature of Gakutei, Hokkei, Hokusai, Kunisada, Shinsai and Shumman. 

This publication provides an illustrated catalogue for the collection compiled by the English Scholar Jack Hillier for the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. The first and largest of its three sections includes surimono in the Ukiyo-e style procuced in the Edo between the 1760s and 1840s. The second includes the privately printed illustrated books and albuns which are also in the library. The third consists of prints by artists of the Shijo school, mostly created in Osaka 1850-70. The catalogue is preceded by a historical introduction; biographies of the artists are given before the relevant entries and two final sections are devoted respectively to an index of the kyoka poets whose verses appear on the surimono in the first section and to later copies of the prints.

Both volumes are Near Fine in Near Fine dust jackets. Slipcase is Very Good, showing light wear. A very clean set.