BONNEVILLE (Patrick). - Lot 31

BONNEVILLE (Patrick). Japanese Photography in the Meiji Era (1868–1912). Paris, Les Éditions de l'Amateur – Antiquités Photo Verdeau, [2006]. Large quarto, illustrated hardcover by the publisher. First edition of this important study devoted to the golden age of Japanese photography during the Meiji era, a period during which Japan gradually opened up to the West and saw the emergence of a remarkably original school of photography. Patrick Bonneville traces the history of the first photographic studios established in Yokohama and introduces the great pioneers of the genre, including Felice Beato, Raimund von Stillfried, Adolfo Farsari, and Kusakabe Kimbei, whose hand-colored photographs rank among the finest photographic works of the 19th century. The book examines the influence of Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) on the nascent art of photography and brings together a vast collection of images: portraits of geishas, samurai, Shinto and Buddhist priests, sumo wrestlers, scenes of daily life, landscapes, views of Mount Fuji, and sweeping panoramas of traditional Japan. Abundant illustrations, mostly reproduced in color, accompanied by detailed historical notes. Condition: a very fine copy; the publisher’s cardboard binding is in excellent condition.