The American poet and collector Arthur Davison Ficke surveys Japanese colour prints period by period: the conditions that gave rise to print-designing, the early primitives, the first polychrome masters, Kiyonaga and his followers, and the later schools. He discusses surimono and pillar-prints, appraises individual artists, and sets some prints beside verses of his own.
Written in 1915 for collectors, it remains a graceful introduction to ukiyo-e. Download the free EPUB.