100 Views of Edo # 22 Deluxe Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: Furukawa River, Hiroo (Hiroo Furukawa), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: July 1856

Size: Vertical oban; 34 x 21.9 cm (13 3/8 x 8 5/8 in.)

Date of this edition: July 1856

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Some pin holes in the right margin, else very fine. Excellent colors, impression and overall condition.

Notes: This is an extremely rare Deluxe edition with Mica in the river banks area. Usually, this technique was reserved for good customer or prestigious people, as the technology was fairly new, expensive and difficult to master.

More about this print: For an Edo resident purchasing this print in 1856, the chief attraction of this scene of the Hiroo area of southwestern Edo may have been the half-hidden restaurant in the foreground to the left of the river. It was a famous eel restaurant named Owariya in a guide to Edo shops of 1811 and labeled "The Fox" on maps published after 1854. The restaurant had a widespread popularity at the time Hiroshige designed this print.

Pictures: Pictures are taken outdoor, in the shade, to reflect true colors, without any enhancements of any kind. The last picture is taken indoor, with a light behind the print, to reveal the exact paper grain, holes if any, or other possible flaws.