A stunning colourful print (chromolithograph) depicting the interior of a theatre in "Jedo" (Edo, one of the old names of Tokyo) in Japan.

Size: approx. 19 inches x 13.5 inches (48.26 cm x 34.29 cm)

Light creasing typical of age and use. Otherwise in good condition. Printed on heavy stock; blank en verso.

The background story is as fascinating as the print itself. The print is from the Album Cosmopolite, a rare folio released in twenty issues between 1837 and 1839 and actually a collection of high-quality facsimiles of various artwork from the private collection of a colourful Frenchman, Alexandre Vattemare.

Vattemare trained as a surgeon but instead became a seminarian, mime, and the most famous ventriloquist of his time. He was also the owner of a famous collection of prints, autographs, coins and medals, and found time as well to engage in international projects (such as being one of the founders of the Boston Public Library!). He published the Album Cosmopolite, from which this print is taken, to finance an ambitious project: the establishment of a system of international cultural exchanges. 

Text at the bottom of the print states that it was designed by a Japanese artist. Interestingly enough, though, the Japanese characters on the left side of the print are reversed.

MISC1