A Book of 1920s Silk Samples: Brightly Colored, Commercially Made

1920s
when closed: 13" x 17 1/4", 33 cm x 43.5 cm

This is a good-sized, fairly hefty book that contains about 17 1/2 pages of commercially produced silk swatches, about 130 designs in total.

It is a really entertaining book because of the dazzling variety of many inventive designs in deep and brightly saturated colors.

Some of the swatches come from the end of the bolt and show the maker's mark. Because of the very bright colors and the lighthearted tone of the designs it seems that these swatches were intended for children's or young girls' kimono.

In addition to the pages that are filled with swatches there are several more that are blank--and these blank pages show narrow, printed rectangles which are meant to be a guide for gluing in more swatches.

The purpose of this book is unclear but it is a treasure trove of traditional Japanese design from the modern era.

Recommended.