Group of Ancient Japanese Illustrated Booklets

Composed of xylographed sheets, sewn together and partly colored, with figures and texts combined. The group consists of 23 booklets, of which two are in three copies and one in four copies; another pair has the same cover but different contents. The booklets can be considered like 19th century "manga": the word "manga" can still refer to many different productions, such as single vignettes, scattered drawings, more elaborate illustrations, comic strips, comic books, as well as animated designs. Starting then from the assumption that there is no "manga form" but different ways of conceiving objects and graphic forms all that can be called by that word, the term manga can be documented in literary and essayistic use in Japan as early as the 18th century to indicate, as mentioned above, drawings and sketches. But it is from the first half of the nineteenth century that it is affirmed, thanks to the progressive publication, starting from 1814, of the 15 volumes of illustrations, stud, graphic amusements and detailed bichromatic prints by Katsushika Hokusai. If, on the other hand, one wants to give the word the more specific meaning of "sequentially drawn stories", the debut should be placed in the second half of the nineteenth century, similarly to what happened in Europe and the United States for comics. The booklets are in good condition. Product Status: Product in good condition, shows little wear and tear. Work Dimensions (cm): Height: 17.5 Width: 11.5 Depth: 0.5 ARAROT0165075