Condition. The book is in Good condition. The book has been rebound in green cloth with black lettering on the front board. Also imprinted on the front board is "Olive Percival" and "Percival" in a circle is on the back board. The front and back paste downs and the adjoining free end papers have been replaced with dark blue illustrated (storks in flight) paper. Inside the front cover is an illustrated book plate reading "Olive-Percival - Her Book." The top of the title page has tissue affixed and on that there are three different blue handstamps (an oval seal, a rectangular seal and an image of a man) front and back on this paper. The handstamp of the man appears at the bottom of the title page also. The blue oval seal is found at three other points on text pages within the book. The last page of the "Note to the Present Edition" (page xiii) has tears and these have been repaired/stabilized by affixing tissue paper to the blank back of that page. On one page (page 157) the word "enlightened" has been written in pencil adjacent to text reading "Illustrious Rule." Both of the free end papers adjacent to the covers have evidence of removal of tape and the front end paper is thinned. The binding is tight and the book absolutely complete. All 30 plates (29 aizuri-e woodblocks and 1 black and white) are clean and in Fine condition. Olive Percival (1868-1945) was a noted author, artist and a book collector specializing in children's books. Her library was dispersed soon after her death.

 
Takeda Izumo (1691-1756) (author)
Dickins, Frederick V. (translator):
Chiushingura; or the Loyal League, A Japanese Romance Translated by Frederick V. Dickins ScB., of the Middle Temple, Barrister at Law. With Notes and an Appendix Containing a Metrical Version of the Ballad of Takasago and a Specimen of the Original Text in the Japanese Character. Illustrated by Numerous Engravings on Wood, Drawn and Executed by Japanese Artists, and Printed on Japanese Paper. New Edition, London, Allen & Co., Waterloo Place, 1880 (MDCCCLXXX), 8vo (6 1/2 x 10 in - 16 x 25.5 cm), rebound in green cloth, 29 aizuri-e woodblock plates, 1 black and white plate with Japanese characters, i-xii, 202 numbered pages. The woodblock prints (aizuri-e) are predominately in light to medium blue, gray, black and white. The last numbered page is followed by the plate with Japanese characters and an English transliteration. These pages are sometimes included in the page total to arrive at 204 pp. Each of the aizuri-e woodblock plates is on medium thick high quality Japanese paper containing silver type (mica) flakes. The top of each plate has Japanese text with the subject of the plate. Below the image on the plate is the English translation. Internally, the plate images have Japanese descriptive captions (occasionally 10 or more such captions). This book was initially published in Japan in 1875.

 
Replaced paste down and bookplate

 
Title Page

 
Table of Contents

 
List of Illustrations

 
Examples of Aizuri-e Woodblock Plates