Japanese Prints: The Art Institute of Chicago (Tiny Folio) [Hardcover]

James T. Ulak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Another in the Abbeville's Tiny Folios series, this little book is a real gem. The Art Institute of Chicago houses one of the world's most beautiful and comprehensive collections of Japanese woodblock prints in the world. Clarence Buckingham, of the famed Chicago family, donated 12,000 prints alone. The book covers this exquisite collection of work from the 17th to 19th centuries in four sections: Primitives, Courtesans, Actors, and Landscapes. It includes work by well-known masters such as Hiroshige, Hokusia, and Utamaro, as well as lesser-known talents such as Shun'ei, Shunko, and Kiyonaga. While the trim size is small, none of the subtle colors, delicate paper texture, or intricate fabric design is lost. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

The small size of this title may not lend to easy library circulation but it makes an excellent and affordable gift: over 270 prints are reproduced in full color, selected from the Institute's collection of woodblock prints, and provides a fine range of works from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century. An excellent survey. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789206137
• ISBN-13: 978-0789206138
• Product Dimensions: 4.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A very small book, with smaller pictures., January 7, 2007

By 

Paul Hawkins (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese Prints: The Art Institute of Chicago (Tiny Folio) (Hardcover)

Many or the pictures are only 1-1/2" x 3-1/4".
The largest are about 2-1/2" x 3-1/4".

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great prints, teensy-tiny product., December 14, 2006

By 

Stephen Armstrong (Hadley, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Prints: The Art Institute of Chicago (Tiny Folio) (Hardcover)

I was terribly disappointed in this book, because it is so tiny, and your eyes have to have 1200 dpi scan to really see everything. Why would an art museum such as the Art Institute of Chicago allow such a one-off throw-away book be published? If you want to see anything, you have to purchase another book. Too bad.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ukiyoe prints in the AIC, February 7, 2006

By 

Prof Donagi Alexander (Savyon, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Prints: The Art Institute of Chicago (Tiny Folio) (Hardcover)

This little book enables the viewer to get a glimpse of the Japanese print treasures available at the Art Institute of Chicago. Part of the museum's collections were published in the past in the two huge catalogues issued by the museum in the fifties and the sixties of the last century. However, nowadays these books are expensive, out of print and quite rare.The little book by Ulak constitutes some kind of a substitute to these catalogues, and in addition,in spite of the small size of its colored reproductions,it gives the viewer a wide panorama of the "floating world" (ukiyoe) masterpieces available at the AIC.

Prof. Alexander Donagi