Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Japansche Rijk. OVERMEER FISSCHER, Johannes Frederik van.

Splendid copy of the deluxe edition, printed on high-quality paper with ample margins, and beautifully hand coloured lithographs. The present copy has been bound by the Amsterdam bookbinder J. H. Peters (dates unknown), who bound several of the most important and luxurious copies, such as the copy mentioned by Bobins, from the library of the Furstenberg family, or the copy in the Royal Collections of the Netherlands, which was possibly owned by king William I (1772-1843). The present copy may likewise have been intended for someone of high social standing.The work describes various aspects of Japanese life and culture, including traditions, art, costumes, religion, language, calligraphy, architecture, topography, flora and fauna, the factory at Deshima, and daily life. The plates show a wide variety of costumes, trades and professions (including a fully armed warrior), the legendary first two Japanese men, a map of Japan superimposed over a view of Mount Fugi, a Buddhist temple, a tea ceremony, men cutting woodblocks for printing (one man wearing Western-style glasses), an "alphabet" (syllabary) of Katakana calligraphy, a female artist at work, musicians and other performers, all vibrantly hand coloured.Johannes Gerhard Frederik van Overmeer Fisscher (1800-1848) was a Dutch civil servant, who spent 9 years at Deshima (1820-1829) as the secretary and director of the warehouses. In 1822, he accompanied the chief of the Dutch factory Jan Cook Blomhoff (1779-1835) on a journey to appear at the court in Edo. He became close friends with several Japanese intellectuals and artists and built up a large collection of Japanese artefacts that is now housed in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde at Leiden. The present work was published during his leave in Holland to much acclaim. It was based on his own observations and the materials he collected. "Fisscher succeeded in producing a highly informative book which played an important role in introducing Europeans to the still little-known land that was Japan" (Nipponalia).With the bookbinder's label of J. H. Peters in Amsterdam mounted on the back pastedown. The edges and corners of the boards are somewhat scuffed, the joints are weakened, but the structural integrity of the binding is still intact, the spine and parts of the boards are discoloured from past sunlight. Bound with the original lithographed wrappers, some of the leaves are lightly foxed. Otherwise in good condition.l Alt-Japan Katalog 1099; Bobins 300; Cordier, Japonica, cols. 489-490; Landwehr, Dutch Books w. col. plates 385; Nippolonia 1899; Tiele 357. Contemporary richly gold-and blind-tooled brown calf, with the author and title lettered in gold on the spine, blind-tooled boards edges and turn-ins, gilt edges. With a hand coloured lithographic frontispiece, and 14 hand coloured full-page lithographic plates, all highlighted with gum arabic. Pages: VII, [3], 320 pp.