Nine vintage photographs taken following the 1891 typhoon in Kobe
[Yokohama?, Japan: ca. 1891]. Albumen photographs, each approximately 8" x 10" on mounts varying from 10" x 14" to 8¼" x 10½", showing the mayhem, including destroyed watercraft in the harbor, a ruined bridge, waterfront wreckage, and a large group of townsfolk looking dejected while also looking curiously at the photographer. Some curling of the images, one with a short tear in the margin, but generally very good. Apparently taken from an album, as one has two other unrelated photographs on the verso. Kusakabe Kimbei (1841-1932) "remains one of the most underrated Japanese photographers of the nineteenth century. Because of his concentration on producing souvenir albums containing hand-colored views and costumes for foreigners he is better known today in the West than he is in Japan. For today's collectors of early photograph albums, pride of place will always be given to Felix Beato and Raimund von Stillfried for their respective output in the 1860s and 1870s. However, from the 1880s onwards no studio comes close to matching Kusakabe's for the consistent quality and variety of its output" (Bennett, Photography in Japan). Item #72650
Price: $2,000.00
