HOKUSAI (Katsushika). Manga. 1814-1878 Set of 4 in-8 Japanese-style paperback volumes illustrated with three-color Japanese prints, mostly double-page, editions of volumes 2, 5, 9 and 10 of the 15 volumes originally published between 1814 and 1878 by Eirakuya Toshiro (Nagoya) then Kadomuraya Jinsuke, and constituting Hokusai's Manga. The Hokusai Manga comprise Hokusai's sketchbooks, depicting the fauna, flora, scenes of daily life and fantasy of Edo period Japan. Originally intended as manuals for Japanese artists and model repertoires for craftsmen, these collections form a rich encyclopedia of life during the Edo period, and enjoyed rapid international success. The print-runs of these volumes are often indeterminate, as the publisher reprinted them according to demand, without any necessary changes to dates or other details. Each copy is complete with its Fukuro folded inside the volume. Provenance: Natalis Rondot French economist, art historian and silk industrialist, Natalis Rondot was delegated by the Reims Chamber of Commerce to represent France in China during an extraordinary mission to negotiate trade treaties from 1843 to 1846. During this trip, Natalis Rondot became interested in Chinese, Japanese and Indochinese cultures, their silk-working techniques and learned Chinese. On his return, he made a decisive contribution to the development of Lyon's silk industry in the 1850s. Appointed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1856, he founded the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Lyon, the future Musée Historique des Tissus, which he inaugurated in 1864. Expert: Mr Nicolas Asvisio - nicolas.asvisio@gmail.com - 06 47 79 88 52