Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e in Edo, 1700-1900

If you want to learn about Japanese wood block printing, this is where you start. Like so many of the British Museum publications, it is written with such an easy authority. The author's name - Ellis Tinios - keeps cropping up in my searches. I believe he has an important collection of his own. And of course, the book is based on prints held in the museum itself. Whether and when they are available to view, I do not know. The published 100 colour illustrations are not full size, but are a good size and combine well as examples for the detailed text. I am sure the colours are exaggerated, but this may simpler take us towards their appearance when first printed 150 years ago. This book really is an excellent, readable education to be used as a starting reference for anyone who wishes to discover another world. I am so grateful.

...an excellent overview of Japanese woodblock prints in terms of their production, place in Japanese society and appreciation in the West. Very well written, a good selection of prints, well reproduced. A larger format, with bigger reproductions would have been nice, but would have meant a corresponding increase in price. All in all a very worthwhile publication.

This book is a joy to look at; the format, paper, reproductions and text all do justice to an interesting topic. The author's goal is to help us understand ukiyo-e both in terms of content and of production, as artefacts of a particular time and culture.The book is highly readable, full of historical detail explaining the context in which these prints were made, censorship and all, but never boring. However, stricter editing would have been beneficial: it often looks as if the chapters had been reviewed by different editors, so that redundancies were never spotted.The book can be used in several ways; just looking at the prints, with the names of the artists and notes on the content, would justify purchasing this book already, such is the range and quality found in these pages. A reader interested in the history of Japan will be rewarded by the wealth of information relating to both the political context and the life of actors, beauties, warriors and the common people. For the art student, this book is also indicated as it goes beyond the basic material found in most introductory books. Finally, the book contains just enough technical information to be of interest to a student of moku-hanga, the modern descendant of ukiyo-e. Highly recommended as an engrossing introduction to Japanese culture and history.

Great images and clear text. The book is well structured and provides a good introduction to Ukiyo-e within this period. I felt that I learnt a lot, and enjoyed the process. Worth reading

For the correct price ok but not more - if you want nice bigger images you have to spend more