CHALLAYE (Félicien). Illustrated Japan. - Lot 107

CHALLAYE (Félicien). Illustrated Japan. Paris, Librairie Larousse, circa 1904. Large quarto, paperback, illustrated red cover in Japanese style. An important popular work devoted to early 20th-century Japan, written by the philosopher and traveler Félicien Challaye. Published at a time when the Land of the Rising Sun was captivating Europe following the Meiji Restoration, this volume offers a comprehensive overview of the country’s history, society, traditions, religions, arts, the status of women, and modernization. The illustrations are one of the book’s main attractions: 676 photographic reproductions, maps, plans, and color and black-and-white plates, offering a remarkable documentary panorama of traditional and contemporary Japan. The photographs of geishas, temples, landscapes, street scenes, and works of art make this a valuable iconographic record of the archipelago at the dawn of the 20th century. A fine example of the Western fascination with Japonism and the discovery of the Far East. Condition Paperback copy. The cover is intact but shows significant wear on the spine and edges, and the binding is fragile.