45 Shimbi Shoin Published Coloured Japanese Woodblock Postcards Housed In A Special 'Japanese Style' Case-book

Tokyo: Shimbi Shoin. Near Fine with no dust jacket. 1910. Unknown. SC. This is a Wonderful Collection of 45 (Forty-Five) Coloured Wood Block postcards published by Shimbi Shoin in Tokyo. NO date (that i can read! ) but likely dated 1900-1920 (?). Most have carte postale/union postale universelle backs. They are all postally unused, with a few light smudges or tiny marks on an occasional card, but all in at least VG to FINE condition, and Most are Fine. The cards are mounted with stamp hinges on a black card background and inside plastic sleeves 2 or 3 per sleeve. All the sleeves are inside a large fold-out, hard cover 'japanese style' case with 'toggle' closures. On the front of the case is a copy of an old booksellers label stating = 'A Large Selection of Best Japanese Postcards and Prints Printed from Wood Blocks In Stock - Probsthain & Co... Great Russell Street, London'. I assume this is where the cards were bought from originally decades back, as the late former owner was UK based (?). Shimbi Shoin was noted for art reproduction primarily in colour woodblock/wood-cut (chromoxylograph) . The approximate date the Shimbi Shoin started business is unclear. It's earliest significant art reproduction publication may have been in 1903. The woodblock reproductions of the Shimbi Shoin have received critical acclaim over the years. In a catalogue for an exhibit of Japanese Art in London's Victoria & Albert Museum in 1924, Edward F. Strange, made the following comment regarding the art of colour woodblock printing in Japan: "The last 30 years or so, have, however, witnessed a sort of revival, by no means without merit in its way; and the adaptation of the process to the requirements of book-illustration and the reproduction of works of art has reached a remarkably high standard in such publications as the Kokka and those of the Shimbi Shoin." . "The Shimbi Shoin used the printing services of the Tokyo Tsukiji Type foundry for some of it's publications. The Tsukiji Type foundry was founded by Motoki Shozo (The GUTENBERG of JAPAN) in the late 1860s and was initially located in Nagasaki. In 1872 the enterprise was relocated to Tsukiji district in Tokyo and the name was changed to Tokyo Tsukiji Type foundry.". This collection came from the estate of a deceased collector of Asian artworks'. This is a wonderful opportunity to buy a great large collection in one lot. This case & collection of cards is quite overweight, weighing about 1.5 kilos UN-packaged and may require extra postage depending on your location. Quite scarce, and rare to see so many lovely cards together at once.. SEE IMAGES. ; Each Volume Large Each card 5.5" x 3.5" .