Nezu, Kaichiro; Umehara, Sueji [Preface, Vol. 6]; Akiyama, Teruo [Preface, Vol. 7-8]; Tanaka, Ichimatsu [Preface, Vol. 10]

SEIZANSÔ SEISHÔ (ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE NEZU COLLECTION) [10 Vol., Complete]

Tokyo: Kaichiro Nezu; Nezu Art Museum, 1939, 1942-1943 [1950?]. First Edition.

Folios, 10 Volume Set. In Very Good plus condition with Good plus chitsu folding cases. Cases are bound in dark blue cloth with bone clasps and titles in black Japanese calligraphy on a white paper label adhered to the front panel. Ex library - cases have handwritten labels on spines specifying titles, volume numbers, and contents; some cases have had labels removed and show light corresponding wear and residue. Library card pocket adhered to first pastedown of inner panels. Cases show moderate shelf and edge wear, with some splitting to cloth at the ends of the joints and small areas of exposed board. Bone clasp cords show rubbing and fraying to cloth. Moderate sunning on all case edges. Vol. I case is more moderately toned/faded, with an additional ex-library sticker on the rear panel. Vol. III case is missing one of its bone clasps.

Volumes are in a distinctive eight-hole fukuro toji binding with tan cord; orange and tan patterned silk boards, spines backed with purple cloth. Text in Japanese and English. Ex library - stamps on text block edges and English title pages, with light pencil writing on verso of title pages. Rubbing and fraying to silk along top and bottom board edges, with small areas of exposed board. Moderate scuffing, light soiling on top and bottom text block edges, which are not covered by the chitsu cases. Text blocks generally show light foxing or soiling and mild age toning throughout, with some volumes showing more moderate foxing. In all cases, text and images remain clear and legible. Some of the larger, fold-out illustrations show small creases or folds along the fore edge, which does not impact contents. Vol. III shows moderate sunning/discoloration in an ~1 in. wide strip along the bottom edge of the rear board, bottom of spine, and much more faintly on the front board. Publisher information page in the rear of Vol. III is somewhat loose and protrudes slightly from the text block, with some edge wear as a result. Vol. VI does not include English translations of the Japanese explanations for each illustration; all other volumes do.

CONTENTS: Vol. I “Paintings of The Sung, Yüan, Ming, and Ch’ing Dynasties” ([150] pages, plus 65 illustrations and color plates including frontispiece, with a laid in note of [2] pages); Vol. II “Calligraphs; Chinese and Nipponese” ([118] pages, plus 56 sheets of illustrations and color plates, with a laid in note of [2] pages); Vol. III “Tea Utensils 1; Cha-ire, Cha-shaku and Natsume” ([72] pages, plus 30 sheets of illustrations and color plates including several fold-out leaves, with a laid in note of [2] pages); Vol. IV “Tea Utensils 2; Cencers, Incense Cases and Tea Bowls” ([98] pages, plus 40 sheets of illustrations and color plates, including several large, fold-out sheets.); Vol. V “Tea Utensils 3; Flower-holders, Water Jars, Kettles, Lacquered Boxes, etc.” ([94] pages, plus 41 sheets of illustrations and color plates, including several large, fold-out sheets); Vol. VI “Chinese Bronzes” ([124] pages, plus 50 sheets of illustrations and color plates); Vol VII “Japanese Painting (Part One); First Section: Kakemono; Second Section: Byōbu (Screens)” ([92] pages, plus 54 sheets of illustrations and color plates, including several large, fold-out sheets); Vol VIII “Japanese Painting (Part Two); Illustrated Scrolls” ([58] pages, plus 49 sheets of illustrations and color plates); Vol XI “Buddhistic Sculptures” ([80] pages, plus 47 sheets of illustrations and color plates); Vol X “Buddhist Paintings” ([132], vi-i pages, plus 51 sheets of illustrations and color plates). Shelved in Room F Elephant.

NOTE: Oversized book(s). Additional postage necessary for expedited/international orders. Economy International shipping unavailable due to size/weight restrictions. For international/expedited customers, please inquire for rates.

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1403956

Special Collections - Upstairs

Price: $12,000

NOTES

The epilogue, located in the rear of Vol. X, gives valuable insight into the publication history of this rare set. This 10 volume catalogue was published at the behest of Kaichiro Nezu, a Japanese industrialist and philanthropist whose extensive collection of ancient east Asian art is showcased in these volumes. Heavily involved with the planning and initial production of the set, Nezu died in 1940, two months before the publication of the first volume. His collection transferred ownership to the newly created Nezu Art Museum, which continued working on the publication of the other volumes in the set. Due to shortages in supplies and labor and transportation issues caused by the Second World War, Vol. II, III, IV, and VI were not published until 1942. While the set was intended to be finished in 1943, only Vol. V and IX were published that year. The fighting grew more intense, and much of the Nezu Art Museum was destroyed in early 1945; as a result, the set would not be finished until "seventeen long years since [they] first started the work in 1933". The publication history outlined in the epilogue has the first volume being published in 1940 and the last in 1950, possibly a more accurate range than the publication years listed on the title pages.