"Beauties and the Flower Seller"	"Beauties and the Flower Seller"
(Hana uru hito, hana ikeru hito 花売る人　花活る人)  Series: Gekkô's Essays (Gekkô Zuihitsu, 月耕随筆) 1893	(Hana uru hito, hana ikeru hito 花売る人　花活る人) Series: Gekkô's Essays (Gekkô Zuihitsu, 月耕随筆) (1896)
Original "A"	Original "B"
Image Size - 21.6 x 32.4 cm (8 1/2" x 12 3/4") + margins as shown	Image Size - 22.2 x 32.4 cm (8 3/4" x 12 3/4") + margins as shown
	(backed with old paper)

Beauties and the Flower Seller - Lovely image of a beauty admiring the flowering branches that a traveling vendor has for sale. A young mother stands behind a stone pillar, a baby in her arms, while a dog disappears around the other side. Two kites float high above in the pale blue sky, an Edo kite ("Edo tako", "江戸 凧")  with a charcter ("Kanji kite", "ji tako", "字凧") for "Long Life" (Kotobuki, 寿) and a bird-of-prey kite ("tonbi dako", "鳶凧") . Charming images, beautifully drawn with delicate details.

Two Editions - On display are two editions fom the original wooblocks (1893 and 1896). Differing details are mainly with the different patterns of clothes and colours. This may be the effect of different degradation during the cause of times.
 

Series - Gekkô's Essays (Gekkô Zuihitsu, 月耕随筆)

Artist - see Biography


Signature - "Gekkō" ("月耕") on the lower right, with artists seal.

Publisher - Takekawa Risaburô (武川 利三郎), Chikusen-dô Publisher's

Image Size - see above  

Condition - both are single sheets; nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical ôban (ôban tate-e);