Posted by Holly Ovalle (66.68.172.225) on September 17, 2004 at 17:10:02:
I am a graduate student, and I am doing some research into the original formats of Ukiyo-e art. Can you help me with verifying or clarify my current research, and give me some ideas for further study?
Specifically, I'm interested in how a person purchasing Ukiyo-e from the original store would have purchased and then displayed his prints. I am interested in the structure and materials of the methods (e.g. types of paper, thread bound books) and their cultural meanings (e.g. color of silk).
From my reading, I seem to have isolated the following types:
1. Individual Prints, including Hashira-e. I believe that hashira-e were printed on thicker paper. However, where they then mounted like calligraphic scrolls on to silk or paper hangings, or were they simply tacked to the wall? How would an individual print have been hung? At what point did the Western method of framing in wood come into vogue?
2. E-hon: Would a series about the Tokaido highway be issued as a set of individual, unbound prints, or as an e-hon? Were these books sewn together at one edge, through the prints, were they accordian folded, or perhaps they were pasted into an album?
3. I have seen mention of "Calenders." Were these sewn at the top and hung on the wall?
What class of people typically purchased Ukiyo-e prints?
I'd appreciate any help, especially if you know a good published source of information, and I'm sorry if my question is redundant. After searching the database, I believe it is different in tone from other posts of similar content. Thank you so much for reading.
Holly Ovalle (pentrace@virtualinfamy.com)