18th Century Japanese picture scroll 1958 repro: Pictures of Insects at Play

Item Details

Meriden, Conn., The Meriden Gravure Co., 1958

First, Fine

Mint condition 1958 museum quality reproduction – by noted book collector Philip Hofer & the Meriden (Conn.) Gravure Company – entitled Mushi Yūgi No Zu, or Pictures of Insects at Play. The original e-hon, a woodblock-printed book, from the late Edo or Meiji period, depicts whimsical artistic depictions of bugs engaging in human-like activities and games. Measures @ 4.7 x 83 inches (@ 12 x 213 cm), wound on a clear plastic core. It is preserved in what is presumed to be its original cardboard cylinder.

An Internet search turns up two of these scrolls, one at Brown University and the other in  Georgia O’Keeffe’s personal collection.