W. L. Behrens Collection. Part I Netsuke and Japanese Carvings, Joly, Henri L. Published by Paragon Book Reprint Corp., New York, 1966. Folio up to 15″ tall; 197pp. with detailed listing information, contents, index to signatures and 70 collotype plates representing about nine hundred and seventy netsuke. Contents are divided into 17 thematic sections including: Seals, Masks, Shoki and the Oni, Okame, Ghosts and Bakemono, Dogu. Black cloth over red cloth boards, black titles front, gilt spine titles. Contents are in fine condition with light outer edge dusting; light rubbing to board edges.
Walter Lionel Behrens was a major collector of Asian objects around the turn of the 20th century. His collections, numbering thousands of items, were sold at several auctions in the early 1900s; the collections were catalogued into multiple books to go along with the auctions. Part I Netsuke and Japanese Carvings, is a reprint of a 1912 catalogue. Very rare offering.
