Dec 13, 2018 - Sale 2496

Sale 2496 - Lot 110

Price Realized: $ 15,600
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 7,000 - $ 10,000
(JAPAN -- PERRY.) Color woodblock map of Uraga and Edo Bay showing the course of Commodore Perry's Black Ship squadron. 11 1/2x15 1/2 inches sheet size; folded, small hole within lower image, else excellent. Japan, circa 1854

Additional Details

together with: A complete bound volume of 18 miniature double-page Perry and Black Ship-related kawaraban (11 with woodblock illustrations). Small 8vo format, 6 1/2x4 1/2 inches, original card wrappers, small worm track through upper margins. [Edo, circa 1854].

An amazing Perry archive combining an unusual and rare period woodblock map and an equally scarce complete set of bound kawaraban. The sheets begin with a representation of the Daimyo Feudal Lords whose aim was to protect Japan from foreign invasion and lead into images of American uniforms and weapons, several representing Perry's arrival, an incredible portrait of a Black Ship, listings of Japan's military strength, and a fine print titled "Peaceful Power in the Land of the Gods" - a humorous depiction of Japanese Sumo wrestlers effortlessly delivering bales of rice to American longboats while the American sailors struggle to lift them.