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First Edition, First Printing. Hard cover, 8vo, pp [12], 260, [8]. In original publisher's decorative cloth binding blocked in shades of navy, and lighter blue upon mid-blue cloth, with titles in gold to front board and spine, and design extending across both boards and spine. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. This cover design of Japanese lotus flowers by Lee Thayer of Decorative Designers, is claimed by some critics to be her finest work. (Minsky, p. 33) The scarce dust jacket has the same design, but with silver highlights and lettering, as if by moonlight.**CONDITION: Fine. The Dust jacket is about Very Good Minus with darkening to spine edge, light edge wear, small chips missing from corners, and extensive tape repair to inside folds, as seen. Still, it is rare to find this in the dust jacket. Now protected in mylar. "SHADOWINGS" is a collection of short stories, customs and folklore about Japanese culture. Sections include: "Stories from Strange Books", "Japanese Studies", and "Fantasies". Included are pieces titled "The Reconciliation" (a ghost story featured in the 1964 movie, "Kwaidan"), "The Corpse-Rider", "Japanese Female Names", "Old Japanese Songs", "Gothic Horror", "Levitation", "Nightmare-Touch", and "Readings from a Dream-Book". One chapter is entitled "Sémi" (Cicada) and contains five full-page plates of Japanese cicada, as well as descriptions of their individual sounds, when they appear, and their part in Japanese culture. For the Japanese, cicadas evoke summertime, impermanence, and evocation of memories. AUTHOR LAFCADIO HEARN aka Patrick Lafcadio Tessima Carlos Hearn (1850-1904), of Greek and Irish parentage, traveled to Japan in 1890, becoming an assimilated westerner with a deep interest in Japanese culture. He married Setsuko Koizumi, the daughter of a samurai family, and became known as Yakumo Koizumi. He later was Professor of English Literature at Tokyo Imperial University. This was his third collection of stories. American Book COVER DESIGNER, LEE THAYER (1874- 1973) was also a mystery writer. She co-founded, along with her husband, the Decorative Designers, a graphic arts group which provided book cover designs during the height of popularity for this sort of look. Her work here takes a decided influence from Japanese block prints. R. Minsky, "The Art of the American Book Cover," (2010), No. 13. (AJ & AMJ)
Ref: FOLK 9812
$640.00