絵本福寿草 3巻 [2]

大岡春卜編, 大岡春川画 · 1737 · 須原屋茂兵衛 · 69 pictures

An 18th-century Japanese picture book (ehon) published in 1737 by Suharaya Mohei, compiled by Ōoka Shunboku and illustrated by Ōoka Shunsen, aimed at general readers interested in plants and flowers. The pictures are woodblock prints of single flowering plants and grasses drawn in fine black outline with pale green or grey-blue wash, and each plant sits against a faint background with handwritten Japanese labels and month notes. A designer might take from them the economical linework, sparse botanical composition, and the way text labels are set alongside the image.

Japanese picture books (ehon)

National Diet Library, Japan (国立国会図書館) · Public Domain Mark (PDM), National Diet Library · More from this library