Object: Bookplate from Ehon tokiwa gusa 絵本常盤草 (Picture-book of Evergreens)

Artist: Nishikawa Sukenobu 西川祐信

Production date: 1755

This is a very early run off the blocks from the 1755 second edition of this tremendously popular ehon. In other words, these bookplates reveal they were an early printing, before the blocks began to show signs of being worn down.

From volume 2 of the 3 volume production.

Beautiful bookplate with very few issues. Very hard to find extant examples of these wonderful woodblock prints in such good condition.

Condition: Minor stains. Bottom corner shows signs of wear after having the pages turned for over 2 centuries. Other than that these bookplates are in great shape for their age.

Nishikawa Sukenobu 西川祐信: Print artist. Said to have studied with Kano Eino and Tosa Mitsusuke. A Kyoto 'Ukiyo-e' artist, Sukenobu became a retainer of the aristocratic Saionji family and was granted the court title Sakyo. He was the leading painter of beautiful women in the Osaka-Kyoto area during the early period of 'Ukiyo-e'. He perfected a fresh, new style of depicting women in a refined and ample manner, based on realism, and established his own school. Sukenobu produced many paintings of women, and his illustrated books total more than a hundred titles. He had a tremendous influence on later artists in Edo, particularly Suzuki Harunobu.

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