Japanese Masters of the Colour Print A Great Heritage of Oriental Art

London: Phaidon, 1954. First edition. Cloth. Very Good Indeed/Very Good. 12" by 9". Various. A first edition copy of J. Hillier's fascinating study of Japanese colored prints. In a charming decorative full cloth binding in the original publisher's decorative dustwrapper. This is a first edition illustrated with numerous colour and black and white plates. Japanese prints are often regarded as one of the most popular forms of art from the East that has become known to the West, with their colourful depiction of oriental life continuing to delight Europe and America since they were first seen outside Japan in the mid nineteenth century. This text serves as a fascinating and coherent introduction to the subject of Japanese colored prints, accompanied with demonstrative colour and black-and-white illustrations and additional notes. J. Hillier is a notable historian and collector of Japanese prints, who has written many books and catalogues on Japanese drawings and prints. In a decorative cloth binding with pictorial dustwrapper. Externally very smart. Some mild wear to extremities including some wear. Internally firmly bound. Pages generally clean and bright with the light spotting to the fore edge of pages and the occasional spot to the text. Dustwrapper generally smart with slight wear. Some closed tears, and loss to upper extremity of front of wrap. Very Good Indeed