A collection of 17 "blue-back" spelling books published for the Japanese market
Tokyo & Osaka: various publishers, ca. 1860s to1890s. 17 volumes, 12mo and 8vo, all in original blue printed paper-covered boards backed in cloth; condition ranges from fair to near fine. All with the title (or variant title) of The Elementary Spelling-Book with the following imprints, and variations: 1) Tokio: Bookselling Co., [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese mss. notes on rear endpaper; 2) Tokio: Rikugokuwan, [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese licensing stamps and ownership stamp on first and last leaves in red; 3) Tokio & Osaka: Rikugokuwan, [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese licensing stamp in red; 4) Osaka: Nakagawa, [ca. 1885], pp. [2] Japanese title, 170, [2], endpapers printed in Japanese; 5) Tokio & Osaka: Bookselling Co., [after 1866], Japanese mss. notes and a drawing on the endpapers, sadly defective, with the loss of the title-p. and several others; 6) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880] (colophon gives publisher as Hobunkwan), pp. [3]-174, [6] ads in both Japanese and English; 7) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, [2] title in Japanese; Japanese licensing stamp in red; 8) Tokio: Maruya & Co., [after 1880], pp. [5]-174 (lacking title-p.), printed Maruya ads on rear pastedown; 9) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, [2] title in Japanese; Japanese licensing stamp printed in red; 10) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174; 11) Tokyo: B. Tsujioka, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174; Japanese title on rear pastedown; 12) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-176; printed Japanese text on both pastedowns; 13) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-176; printed Japanese text on verso of title page, last leaf and rear pastedown; licensing stamp printed in red affixed to last flyleaf; 14) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-128, lacks last signature, Japanese text on rear pastedown; 15) Tokyo: Sugimoto, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, Japanese mss. on front pastedown, Japanese text on rear pastedown; 16) Osaka: Sekizenkwan, 1887, pp. [3]-114, [4] Japanese text; Japanese mss. notes on front and back flyleaves; 17) Osaka: Sekizenkwan, 1887, pp. [5]-114, [1] Japanese text, presumably lacking a title-p. but there's no evidence of it. Item #60306
Price: $4,000.00
