Japonaiserie sounds so much more enticing than Japanese-influenced doesnāt it. In 1854 the Japanese ended their policy of āSeclusionā and opened up trade with the West. Van Gogh famously embraced Japonaiserie but so did the entrepreneurial Arthur Lasenby Liberty who knew he could tempt his customers with new treasures from Japan.
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Although trade with Japan had opened up, it was still strictly controlled and funneled through the port of Yokohama where all the merchants and middlemen from East and West gathered. By the early 1890s when Liberty & Co were co-publishers of The Book of Delightful and Strange Designs being One Hundred Facsimile Illustrations of the Art of the Japanese Stencil-Cutter, they had an office in Yokohama.
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If you š there are two photos of the facsimiles in the book. They are indeed delightful and strange but the title page and dedication are a hoot. āThe Book of Delightful and Strange Designs being One Hundred Facsimile Illustrations of the Art of the Japanese Stencil-Cutter to which the Gentle Reader is introduced by one Andrew W Tuer, FSA, who knows Nothing at All about It.ā Mr Tuer ā founder of Leadenhall Press, principle publisher ā goes on to make the following dedication āDedicated to that most capricious, never-to-be-understood, weathercocky, provokingly incorruptible and absolutely necessary person, the Gentle Reader.ā
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How clever and maddening he must have been. The introduction is a sparkling mixture of teasing, erudition and aesthetic appreciation.
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If youāre Christmas shopping this weekend, pointing this way and that, unable to make up your mind, donāt tell yourself youāre being indecisive. Youāre being weathercocky! Have a great weekend!
![ā¢ ho ho no ā¢ vom Nikolaus gab es heute LƤuse. DAS IST SO IRRE TOLL! Ich freu mich. Nicht. Diese elenden kleinen ScheiĆerchen braucht kein Mensch. Ehrlich. Mistmaden. // gelettert fĆ¼r die #everydaydrawandletter Challenge [ @letteritoutloud | @everydaydrawandletter ] // ā // ā¢ ā¢ ā¢
#lettering #letteringart #brushlettering #handlettering #lƤddergƤng #elsterchenlettering #typo #schoenschreiben #instalettering #whitenightswatercolor #watercolorlettering #lettereveryday #ecolinebrushpens #stencils #handwritinggoals #letterlover #letteringquotes #illustration #illustrationandlettering @boesner_deutschland @acuarelaswhitenights #hohoho #happyhohohotoyou](https://scontent-frt3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/75388530_2504019926537595_4049067435786367415_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-frt3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=103&oh=dbbe0a4905866086d75488e249476700&oe=5E7A6BA2)
