Japan – Writing Letter (Letter Writer)
Yokohama, Japan: c 1880. Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/2 x 8 inches (266 x 203 mm). Edges a little faded and some cockling, image is clear and beautifully colored. Unmounted, housed in an archival mat with clear mounting corners.
[Nagasaki University Library, Catalog Number : 10].
A woman wearing a kimono is writing a letter with a brush. A box to place brushes and sumi ink, and an andon lamp are on the tatami rice mats. In the back hangs a kakejiku hanging scroll .
KUSAKABE Kimbei (1841-1932) Not much is known of Kusakabe's early life. He was born into a family of textile merchants but left home at eighteen to move to Yokohama to further his ambition of becoming an artist. At some time in the early 1860s he joined Beato as a photo-colourist. Soon he was a fully fledged assistant and accompanied Beato on a trip to Shanghai in 1867. In the 1870s he joined Stillfried but in what capacity is not known. He also seems at this time to be in business selling his own silk paintings. In 1880 he opened his own Yokohama studio and, like his great rival Tamamura, targeted the foreign community selling souvenir albums. By 1892 he was advertising a portfolio of some 2000 images and by 1901 his studio was the largest in Japan. Kusakabe retired in 1914 and spent his later years painting. He was an exceptional artist and photographer. [Bennett, Terry. Old Japanese Photographs: Collectors' Data Guide. London: Quaritch, 2006, p. 286].
Condition: Very Good +.
Item number: 2120
Price: $500.00
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