Search

This collection contains a sales sample book of finely embroidered alphabets, likely intended for use on silk handkerchiefs. There are 290 embroidery samples on silk, mounted to windows in each leaf of the eighty leaves. Inscribed on the original silk cover in graphite is "Marie Rose Devaux 40 Rue des matyrs [sic] Paris". Bound in the Japanese stab-sewn fukurotoji style ("Bound Pocket" binding) and using paper with visible kozo fibers, this sample book was likely made in Japan, rather than simply taking inspiration from Japanese books. This is reinforced by the note to the front flyleaf, calling the samples "Matsuroku pattern." In the rear of the book there is a list of the various samples and their prices in yen. The samples blend Japanese and European sensibilities, with letters formed of embroidered bamboo, paper cranes, and monkeys alongside western umbrellas and hats and more classic letterforms. "Japonisme" is a French term for the interest and popularity of Japanese culture and art among Europeans, especially artists, after Japanese ports reopened to trade with the West in 1853; the aesthetic trend permeated everything from art to clothing to homeware, as evidenced in this sample book.