Superb, dated Japanese photo album with 120 photos with previously unknown photos of Georges Bigot and friends in Japanese costume
[Japan] Important album captioned in French with previously unknown, dated photos of Georges Bigot dressed in Japanese clothes [as a samurai] with three other French men named Toussaint [dressed as a woman], Gilbert [as a police officer], and Renard [as a rickshaw puller on a rainy day]. Interestingly, there are two copies of this photograph at the beginning of the album so it would seem quite likely that the original owner was one of these four men. R. Toussaint and M. Renard worked for De Vegan & Co. in Yokohama and a J. Gilbert worked for Hecht, Lilienthal & Co. according to the Japan Directory of 1883. The album contains a range of both portrait images and scenery. A number of the large format photos match the numbering system of Usui Shuzaburo and at least one of the smaller photos appears to have a background that Kanamaru Genzo was known to use. Others are by Stillfried. The two photos pasted inside the front and rear covers are probably related to an exhibition or exposition of ceramics. At the end of the album is an unusual, fold-out printed by the chief priest of the Kamakura daibutsu in English asking for donations to re-erect it. There is also one loose sheet with a small woodblock print of a lady walking at night. Dated 1882 at the beginning of the album, the year Bigot first arrived in Japan.
40 leaves. 120 photos. Album covers 38 x 26.1cm.
In very good condition. The album is very well made and no pages are loose. The pages are thick and a bit darkened at the edges. General age wear throughout and a few marks but nothing serious. nb33080010