Surimono: Prints by Elbow.

Mycket gott skick. Lovejoy Press, Washington DC 1980. Publishers green raw-silk cloth. White lettering on the front board and on the spine. White japanese hiragana lettering on the front board. Size: 48, 5 x 31, 5 cm. Frontispice. 494 pages. Profusely illustrated. Works by: Eisen, Gakutei, Gekko, Hiroshige, Hokusai, Kosai, Kosetsu, Kunimasa, Kuninori, Masunobo, Matora, Rinsai, Renchu Ryoshoko, Sessen, Toyoharu, Toyokuni, Utamaro, Utamasa and several other artists. Including a chapter on "Unsigned prints" and as well a chapter on artists signatures. Limited edition of 1050 copies. This is copy number 124. Condition: Very Good. / Surimono are distinguished from other ukiyo-e wood block prints in several ways - see article below. The sumptuous prints illustrated in this book are in a sense by-products of the traditional Japanese gift-system. Poets and artists would collaborate in putting out small illustrated volumes of verse; and from this came the idea of commissioning single-sheet colour-prints inscribed by members of the group, which they could present to each other, most typially at New Year. It is this prints which are known to us as Surimono. Surimono literally means "printed thing" Specifically, however, it refers to a "a luxurious kind of print on unsized-paper, made to special order, used for greetings, announcements, etc., notably as New Year gifts". One of the great glories of Japanese art is the ukiyo-e print. Those pictures of the "floatinfg world" or passing scene form a macrocosm which spawned an exquisite microcosm - the surimono. These miniatures proved to be the ultimate in quality, technique and detailed treatment - endearing and frequently made-to-order treasures. All the design ingenuity of the larger prints is preserved. Surimono incorporate tremendous aesthetic impact disproportionate with their usually small size when compared with the field of ukiyo-e in general. Surimono are distinguished from other ukiyo-ewood block prints in several ways. Invariably they are made in short editions, as few as one of a kind. In addition to the usual techniques of block printing, much gauffrage was used to give texture and depth to the impressions. Frequently the prints were enhanced with gold, silver and copper onlays, as well as pewter, bronze, mica and mother-of-pearl and used special paper. As an art form, surimono emerged strongly from 1765 forward.