Book 1899110505, A Model Japanese Villa, Kazumasa Ogawa, 1899

Book 1899110505
A Model Japanese Villa
Kazumasa Ogawa, 1899

Condition. The covers are in Good condition. The paste on title label is present. The front and back covers have heavy toning/soiling. It is darker at the top and bottom of the front cover than on the back cover. There is a 2 cm tear at the bottom edge of the front cover. There are several large scrape lines, front and back, which do not break the covering. The spine covering is present but broken at the top and bottom and there is a 5 cm area at the foot of the spine where the covering is missing. The corners are bumped and worn and the edges scraped. Internally the book is in Very Good condition. All plates, with accompanying descriptive tissue guards, are present and clean and free for marking, or staining.

Ogawa, K. (Kazumasa)
A Model Japanese Villa, Tokyo, Ogawa, 1899 (Meiji 32), Oblong 4to (14 3/4 x 11 1/2 in - 37.5 x 29.4 cm), hard boards covered with crepe type paper with a subdued design, title label pasted on front board, string tied, gilt speckled front and back end and free papers, 15 plates containing 19 hand colored collotype images. The covering cover extends across the spine which is not typical of string tied Japanese type bound books. Two of the 15 plates contain three collotypes each while the balance have one collotype image per plate. The collotype images vary in size. The single image plates are approximately 10 x 7 1/2~8 in - 27.2 x 19.5~20. Two of the collotypes are oval images approximately the same width as the large rectangular images. The collotypes on the two pages with multiple images are each 4 x 5 1/2 in (14 x 10 cm). Each plate is protected with tissue guard that has a descriptive title in English. The book presents various aspects of an upper class Japanese residence (villa). All aspects of the home are covered from the inside formal rooms to the villa's grounds. Particular emphasis is placed on the gardens and chrysanthemum in beds and in pots. Perhaps one of the finest examples of Ogawa's expertise as a photographer and printer.

I have reviewed two copies of this book. Both have identical title pages and colophons. The books each had one plate not in the other book. The plate of an "Artificial garden" is in this book but is in the other book. A plate titled "A row of the chrysanthemums in bed" is present in the other book but not in this one. In addition, the plates in the two books were in arranged in a slightly different order.

For information on Kazumasa Ogawa, click here.

[15 Plates Containing 19 Collotype Images]

Plate contains the following three collotypes:
-1. The Main Entrance to the house seen from the court yard.
-2. A corner of the house showing a stone water basin.
-3. A portion of the garden showing the stone lanterns and bronze storks.
Complete plate with three collotypes.

Close-up of colloype 3 on plate 1.
A View of the house seen from the garden.
A View of the garden showing the hillock with three big trees.
A corner of a living room showing a portion of the tokonoma.
Entire Plate

Close up of Plate
A view of the parlor.
A view of the parlor showing the tokonoma.
Chrysanthemums in bed and two young ladies.
Chrysanthemums in pots artistically arranged.
Artifical garden

Another chrysanthemum bed showing the different varieties.
Another view of the chrysanthemums in pots artistically arranged.
Another view of the chrysanthemum beds with two young ladies in the center.
A chrysanthemum bed with different varieties.
A view of the chrysanthemum beds in the north end of the garden
with two young ladies in the centre.
Plate contains the following three collotypes:
-1. A temporary rustic gate at the west end of the garden.
-2. The chrysanthemums in pots at the northwest corner of the garden.
-3. Another view of the chrysanthemums in pots at the northwest corner of the garden.

Colophon

Printed: Meiji 32 (1899).3.29
Distributed: Meiji 32 (1899).4.2