A SET OF TWENTY-SIX BOOKS (15TH-19TH CENTURY)
Zuo Chuan / Li Bian / Shi Ji Selection
Zuo Chuan
25.5 x 16 cm. (10 x 6 ¹⁄₄ in.)
Twelve books, printed 15th-16th century
With inscription and collector’s seals of Tokutomi Sohō (1863-1957)

Li Bian
29.5 x 17.6 cm. (11 ⁵⁄₈ x 6 ⁷⁄₈ in.)
Eight books, printed guiyou year of Tongzhi period (1873)
With collector’s seals of Tokutomi Sohō (1863-1957)

Shi Ji Selection
Six books, printed ninth year of Guangxu period (1883)

Mr Tokutomi Sohō (1863 - 1957) was a famous journalist, who was very active between the Meiji and Showa periods. At the age of 28, he founded "Kokumin (People's) Newspaper" and worked as a chief editor and managing director for many years. As a historian he was extremely famous known especially for his The Modern Japanese History volume 1-100.

Mr Tokutomi deeply appreciated Chinese culture, as he was acquainted with Tang dynasty Poem Selection, and he was highly respected by policy-makers, business leaders and Chinese poem specialist Shinpei Goto (1857-1929).

He was able to form a major collection of important Chinese paintings with a help from his great circle of friends, such as the Chinese seal maker Senro Kawai (1871-1945), historian Konan Naito (1866-1934) and graduates from University of Toa Doubunshoin.