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SIEBOLD, Philipp Franz von (1796-1866)
Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan und dessen Neben- und Schutzländern: jezo mit den südlichen Kurilen, Krafto, Koorai und den Liukiu-Inseln, nach japanischen und europäischen Schriften und eigenen Beobachtungen bearbeitet
Leiden: bei dem Verfasser, 1832-1852. 'Text': 7 volumes in three, large quarto (16 x 11 ½ inches). Six half-titles and titles, and 3pp. collation subsequently issued by Bernard Quaritch; half-title and 1832 title and 982pp. of text only (of 1426). Lithographed frontispiece, portrait of Schilling Canstadt, on india paper mounted, 95 lithographed plates, views and maps only (including 7 maps [1 folding, 4 double-page], 9 views [1 double-page]). (Some spotting, browning or old light marginal dampstaining to about 17 plates, 1 plate with tear to outer margin.) 19th-century green bubble-grain cloth, titled in gilt on the flat spines.
'Plate' volumes: 2 volumes, folio (23 ½ x 15 ½ inches). Letterpress title dated 1852, two section titles and 1 leaf of text. Lithographed frontispiece and 347 (of 382?) plates, views and maps only (including 17 maps [2 hand-coloured in outline, 12 double-page, 2 of these hand-coloured], 46 views; 10 plates hand-coloured or printed in colours, 67 on india-paper or tinted), extra-illustrated with 16 duplicate plates (Light old marginal dampstaining or spotting to about 80 plates.) 19th-century brown cloth-backed boards, titled in gilt on the flat spines.
A noble fragment of the "Nippon": an all encompassing work on Japan of the pre-Meiji era, the plate volumes are in the deluxe folio format which allows the full value and beauty of the images to be fully appreciated.
The total number of plates in both sections is 461, of these 103 are duplicates, giving a total of 358 individual images: this number comes closer to the probable required total of 382 than the number of plates in any other copy of the work recorded at auction since the war.
The plates printed on the smaller format paper of the text volumes to a large extent duplicate those in the plate volumes: of the 97 images in the text volumes, only 10 do not have the same image printed on large paper in the plate volumes. This together with total of 348 images in the plate volumes makes up the total of 358 images.
Siebold 's work was published over what was to prove to be the final decades of the Edo (or Tokugawa) period which ended with the overthrow of the last shogun and the restoration of supreme power to the emperor, in the form of Meiji Tenno. Siebold was able to record, from first-hand observation the final period of traditional Japan, a period which had lasted for over 200 years and had been, for the most part, a time of peace, political stability and economic growth. He was able to record a way of life, of art and religion much of which was swept away by the moves in the Meiji period to westernize and modernize.
The shogunate had been founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. He achieved hegemony over the entire country by balancing the power of the potentially hostile domains (tozama) with strategically placed allies (fudai) and collateral houses (shimpan). As a further strategy of control, beginning in 1635, Ieyasu's successor required the domainal lords, or daimyo, to maintain households in Edo (modern Tokyo) and reside there for several months every other year.
As part of the systematic plan to maintain stability, the social order was officially frozen, and mobility between the four classes (warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants) was prohibited. Another aspect of the concern with political stability was fear of foreign ideas and military intervention with the result that and official policy of national seclusion was adopted. Contact with the outside world was limited to a few Chinese and Dutch merchants who were still allowed to trade through the southern port of Nagasaki.
The national economy expanded rapidly in the last quarter of the 17th century. The resultant increase in mercantile activity gave rise to a well-to-do merchant class which brought with it a dynamic urban culture that found expression in new literary and art forms.
This economic success brought with it the seeds of the destruction for the shogunate period: the daimyo and samurai classes began to experience financial difficulties as their income was not keeping pace with the rises experienced by the merchants. A number of attempts at reform were tried during the 18th century, but the financial strain on the warrior class increased. The period when Siebold was in Japan was one of increasing unrest from the samurai, peasant uprisings and constant financial problems. The powerful southwestern tozama domains of Choshu and Satsuma exorted the greatest pressure on the government and eventually bought about the final overthrow of the last shogun.
The present work is notoriously difficult to find complete: the extended period over which it was published, allied with the financial difficulties of the Dutch publisher, have ensured that few, if any, complete copies remain. In fact, booksellers of the period are recorded as having the greatest difficulty in completing sets, and the facsimiles published in 1897 and 1931 were reproduced from a number of different, but incomplete sets.
Cordier Bibliotheca Japonica 477.
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#2906 $120,000.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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