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Could anyone help with any of the artists, dates and, if possible subjects/titles here please. Many thanks, Chris

These look like random pages out of several Japanese ehons (books). Without more information, like the title pages, it is unlikely we can identify the artist or subjects - unless someone is familiar with the particular books involved.

Cheers,
Stan

Many thanks Stan, I've just carefully removed the top left and bottom right prints from their backing boards and there is some handwriting in pencil on the card... 'Hanabusa Itcho 1760'. They are woodblock prints on very thin, laid, Japanese type paper but, after just reading about all the fakes out there I'm sure you'll be telling me these are a pair of those! Best wishes, Chris

Actually, no. One reason copies are made is to make a profit by deception. There is no profit in this instance. Ehon pages by famous artists like Hokusai or Hiroshige bring about $50.

Hanabusa Itcho does show up in Wikipedia and elsewhere on the web.

Cheers,
Stan

Here are 3 ehon pages from a Hokusai manga that I digitally combined in an interesting configuration.

Cheers,
Stan

Clever stuff Stan. Am I correct then, mine are genuine Ehon pages which are quite common and have a nominal value? Also, would the date of 1760 be accurate or just a previous owner's guess? I do have similar pages by Sukenobu and a few genuine Hiroshige prints which you may be able to help me with. Best wishes, Chris

Chris,

Take everything I am about to say with a grain of salt. I'm in over my head.

I'd say 3 of the 4 are original ehon pages. I don't know what the one in the lower left is. Knowing how books work, I assume an ehon could be reprinted at a later date.

That said, the remaining 3 look like they are in very good condition. This is very possible with ehons if they are kept closed and stored where they aren't damaged by water, etc. Does this help us date them? not much.

Could the pages be by Hanabusa Itcho from 1760? No because he lived from 1652 - 1724 (unless printed posthumously). Could they be by Hanabusa Itcho? Maybe. I went to the Boston MFA site and put "Hanabusa Itcho" in the search field. No ehons were presented. I notice some stylistic similarities between your corner prints and the scroll in the link below.

In short, your guess is as good as mine.

Cheers,
Stan

URL Title :Puppeteers and Musicians

Here are a few more pages from the pile. The first is a double ehon page by an unknown artist. It looks 1850ish to me. The second is a worm-eaten double ehon page that the previous owner attributed to Utamaro (Seiro Ehon Nenji Gyoji).

Note the condition problems. These are typical for paper art from that period. That said, pieces in much better condition are not unusual.

Cheers,
Stan

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