Aventures de Momotaro (1900, first thus)

Undated, c1900. First French edition. String bound, card covers. 14.5 × 18cm, [14pp]. Text in French.

The story of Momotaro (Peach Boy), a hero from Japanese folklore, famous for being born from a giant peach, and gathering animal companions (dog, monkey, pheasant), and for defeating ogres on Ogre Island (Onigashima). This edition was issued as a promotional booklet by Phosphatine Falières (a French cereal company). The translation was by Judith Gautier, a poet, author, Orientalist and daughter of Théophile Gautier, and illustrated with 12 full-page lithographed colour compositions by Isayama, and is a good example of Japonisme—the 19th-century French obsession with Japanese aesthetic principles that revolutionized Western art. Each plate is opposed by the text, and each page of text has a decorative border.

Condition

This copy is in good condition for age. The covers are slightly tanned, with a little damage to the head of the spine and a small mark to the front cover. Light edgewear to the covers. The contents are in very good condition, some light age-toning to the pages. The book has a tissue guards as endpapers and the front one has a small amount of loss to the top corner.