Sale 2436 Lot 19

KUSAKABE KIMBEI (1841-1934) A rich album with 50 photographs of Japan, each artfully hand-colored. Including sweeping landscapes, temples, detailed occupational scenes (including greeting and tea images, women eating rice, and playing what appears to be a badminton), studio portraits, and naturalistic outdoor scenes. Hand-colored albumen prints, the images measuring 8x10¼ inches (20.3x26 cm.), and the reverse, mounted recto/verso, most with an inventory number and caption in the negative; 3 with a small printed label. Large oblong folio, black lacquer pictorial covers with inset ivory and gilt highlights, the image depicting a man pulling a woman in a rickshaw and Mt. Fuji; leather backstrip; all edges gilt; with Kimbei's small oval hand stamp on the front pastedown; and in the original decorative leather box. 1890s

[3,000/4,500]

Kimbei opened his own Yokohama studio in 1880, and became incredibly popular with tourists. He seems to have previously worked as a colorist to Felice Beato and Baron Raimond von Stillfried, and the images from his studio are remarkable for their fine hand-coloring and elegant presentation. His inventory included his own imagery as well as images from those studios that preceded him in Japan.