Ten Bamboo Studio(Shizhu Zhai Jian Pu),1952
Woodblock prints, ink and colour on paper, four volumes, in a clothbound slipcase, Beijing, Rongbaozhai, 1952. 32cm (12.1/2in.) high (4).
注脚
Originally compiled by the late Ming dynasty seal carver Hu Zhengyan (1584-1674), this collection of decorated letter papers was re-issued by Zheng Zhenduo in the 1930's. Offered here, the 1952 reprint is a faithful facsimile of the seventeenth century edition, even incorporating the blind-stamping technique of gauffrage (gonghua 拱花 "embossed design" or "arched pattern") where a dry woodblock is pressed into the paper to create a subtle, low-relief design. On the 1952 edition, Jan Tschichold remarked "the finest issue. An incomparably perfect facsimile; the best printed book of modern times anywhere."