£3,500
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 658
Auction: 5 November 2021 at 10:00 GMT
comprising fourteen oban tate-e prints and one oban yoko-e print; including one entitled Sumo Unryu Kyukichi, published by Daikokuya Heikichi; two entitled Backstage at the Ichimura Theatre in Fukiya-cho, Where Hit Performances are Packing Them In (Fukiya-cho Ichimura-za o-iri atari furumai gakuya no zu); two entitled Backstage at a Theater in Dotonbori, Osaka (Osaka Dotonbori shibai gakuya no zu); one Backstage at the Season Opening Performance of the Morita Theater (Morita-za kaomise gakuya no zu, sanmai tsuzuki); one Backstage Celebrations of a Full-house Hit at the Ichimura Theater (Ichimura-za ôiri atari furumai gakuya no zu); one Fujin tashinami gusa from the series Fitting Accomplishments for Women etc.
Provenance: From the collection of Arthur Halcrow Verstage
Note: Arthur Halcrow Verstage (1875-1969) was an architect who spent much of his career in the public sector. He was a student at the Royal Academy School of Architecture in the 1900s and was elected as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1902. By 1903 he was a student and assistant at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (later known as the Central School of Art and Design) in London where William Lethaby was principal and a great influence on him. He then oversaw the design of the new school in Southampton Row from 1905-8. From here he became an architect for London County Council and was involved with many London societies, and as a founding member of the Kelmscott Fellowship, a forerunner to The William Morris Society. His large and varied collection was a reflection of his wide interest in the arts. His archive was purchased by The William Morris Society in 2005.