Posted by John Jones on December 23, 2000 at 05:31:11:
In Reply to: Re: Toshi Yoshida, "The Garden of the Three Friends" posted by Philippe on October 17, 2000 at 03:54:12:
I recently acquired all three prints as a set at an auction earlier this month.
The set also had all of the paperwork and certificates that were issued from the
Franklin Gallery, plus a signed letter from from the Gallery. As far as some of
the questions raised, the papers state that:
1. Toshi Yoshida "has been deeply involved in every phase of the creation of these
prints, from carefull sketching the designs, to carving the 19 woodblocks from which
each print is made, to selecting the fine hand-made paper"
2. The Certificate of Authenticity (each print has its own), is written in Japanese
and signed/sealed by Yoshida. The translation which comes with the certificate reads
"This is to certify that the Woodblock Print "Bamboo of the Friendly Garden" is an
original fine art work which was created by Toshi Yoshida for The Franklin Gallery and
for which the artist developed a new work and personally participated in the
print pulling. It is a strictly limited edition that was commissioned and offered by
The Franklin Gallery for subscription and issued to those valid orders accepted. It is
individually signed by the artist himself."
It is signed/sealed by Yoshida and Yasusada Inaba, Director, Franklin Gallery.
Each print comes with its own certificate.
3. The paperwork that describes "The Garden of the Three Friends" tells about the theme,
the type of art, etc. In addition to stating that Yoshida was "deeply involved in
every stage of their creation", it also says that he "devoted his personal attention
to the carving of the 19 woodblocks from which each print was made, as well as the seletion
of the paper, the colors, and the preparation of the prints."
The papers come in a folder, with the certificate, background info for the set, background
info for the individual print, letter from the Gallery, etc. The original issue price for
each print was $150. The prints were issued in this order: Pine Tree, Bamboo, and Plum Tree.
Each print was framed in teak and matted in pure silk, an hand-pulled on high quality
Japanese paper, according to the letter from the Gallery. It also says that because that
type of paper is so absorbent, the tend to ripple slightly if displayed in high-humidity areas.
It also says that if the prints show this effect don't be concerned since this is a characteristic
of the art form.