The original paintings by Kondo Ariyoshi from which the designs within this book were taken were owned by the Osaka collector, Shibakawa Matauemon, who commissioned the contemporary artist, Nambara Keisho, to produce this finely-printed reproduction of his collection, and to provide a preface for it. Although produced for an art-orientated audience, the level of detail displays a naturalist's eye, with multiple angles of each specimen along with inscriptions identifying the plant or animal and giving the date the picture was originally made.

For another copy in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, The University of Kansas, and for further reading, go to http://liblamp.vm.ku.edu/spencer/exhibits/easternBotanicals/kondoariyoshi/5ellisavese72221rbats_4.html, and for another set in the collection of the British Museum, go to www.britishmuseum.org, museum number 2011,3010.16.

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