Designer: Utagawa Hiroshige

Paper size: 14.5cm by 11cm | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [HC] ? | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: $ 40.00£ 30.50€ 34.75

Description: This interesting little print is a very unique item in our HangaClub series, because - here comes a confession! - it was not made by Mokuhankan.

If that disappoints you, then I can perhaps offer some consolation; it is actually an old antique print. Our best estimate, based on the condition, the paper, and the overall style, is that it dates from the 1930s.

Although Mokuhankan frequently has single copies of antique prints in our shop, how are we able to offer this old print as a standard recurring item in our catalogue? It seems impossible, by definition!

Here we are though, and the story is fun! We are always searching for interesting old prints to offer in our shop, and one day recently we had a visit from an antique dealer who came with a box under his arm. It turned out that he had found quite a treasure that must have come from an old printer’s workshop - a carefully bundled stack of ‘freshly completed’ woodblock prints of this famous Hiroshige design.

We have no idea why the prints were not distributed and sold back at that time (possibly the war intervened in their business activities). We are hugely grateful that the prints were carefully preserved from damp and mold, and now more than 90 years after their creation, they are ready for their debut!