Books and Manuscripts from the Japan Society Library
Books and Manuscripts from the Japan Society Library
Property from the Japan Society Library, London
Felice Beato (1832-1909) | Album of photographs of Japan and three panoramas | 1863
Lot Closed
November 4, 02:38 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Japan Society Library, London
Felice Beato (1832-1909)
Album of photographs of Japan and three panoramas, 1863
comprising:
photograph album, 1863, oblong folio, signature of Beato in pencil on the first mount, 48 albumen prints, mounted on card, recto only, compromising a 6-plate panorama of the Foreign settlement of Yokohama from the Bluff (removed from the album and housed in a card tube), a 3-plate panorama of Yokohama from the Governor's house, a 2-plate panorama of the Temple Kamakura, a 2-plate panorama of the Tycoon's Palace (Yedo), and 35 individual prints, together with 2 mounted watercolours, pencil captions on the mounts, original sewn Japanese wrappers, housed in a modern folding black cloth box
A rare album of fine early photographs of Japan by Felice Beato (1832-1909), with views of Yokohama, the Tokaido, Hakoni, Yedo, Nagasaki, Kanagawa, and Mount Fuji, together with traditional subjects, manners and customs of Japanese life and culture including ladies at rest, at leisure and at their toilet, a street refreshment stall, a military officer, a barber, travelling dentist, playing Go, street musicians, sake sellers, sedan chair carriers etc.
Beato was a pioneer foreign photographer in Japan, who first settled in Yokohama, Japan's major treaty port. He offered his first photographic albums for sale in 1868, and this album was part of that enterprise. The printed text that accompanies the photographs was written for a Western audience and describes places to see, suggesting itineraries and tips to visitors, as well as providing extensive descriptions of famous monuments, landscapes, and towns of Japan. Beato's photographs of Japan rapidly became a commercial success and were imitated by his competitors and later photographers.