Heroes, villains, and damsels in distress abound in these richly colored, dramatic images from the Japanese equivalent of dime-store novels. These illustrations were selected from woodblock-printed covers and frontispiece illustrations from 64 popular books published in Osaka from 1898 through 1903. They include samurai and strong men, demons and detectives, courtesans, sumo wrestlers, and other vivid characters in scenarios ranging from romantic to grotesquely violent. Printed in the color woodblock method in use since the late eighteenth century, they provide a link between an ancient storytelling tradition and the beginning of mass-published popular literature. Created during the Meiji era (1868–1912), when Japanese society was changing dramatically with the influx of Western technology and values, these images appealed to a wide audience of newly literate readers. Their scenes of retribution and sacrifice reflect a modern consciousness of Japanese history and a longing for an idealized vision of the past, marked by traditional values of loyalty, filial piety, self-sacrifice, and chivalry. Long considered a disposable form of popular culture, these books were not carefully preserved or collected. This collection, assembled by an expert on Japanese art, offers a rare glimpse of a newly rediscovered art form.

The great 18th-century artist discusses and illustrates the expression of beauty with serpentine lines. Hogarth defines graceful imagery's underlying qualities and dramatizes their effective combination in more than 30 black-and-white plates.

In-depth guide to ancient Native American crafts focuses on the techniques of the western Sioux. Explanations of techniques involved in quillwork, including dyeing and sewing, beadwork methods. More than 80 photographs and drawings depict handsome motifs on articles of clothing including vests, shirts, robes, dresses, leggings, moccasins, blankets, saddlebags, and shields.

Color reprint of Hokusai's masterpiece, Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji, plus the artist's later black-and-white series, One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. A must for all lovers of Japanese art.

Complete with an Introduction by James Gurney, the author of Dinotopia, this guide introduces not only the techniques of oil painting but also the underlying principles of figure drawing. A series of images by the Old Masters includes 32 pages in full color, featuring paintings from the Italian, Dutch, Spanish, French, and British schools. "A masterly exposition." — Liverpool Daily Post.

This volume showcases five decades' worth of magnificent black-and-white illustrations and includes an informative history of the art. Images include scenes of animals and rural life, portraits, episodes from literature, and much more.

Drawn from the ancient art and artifacts of an international array of museum collections, this spectacular volume offers a unique selection of unusual animal motifs from Prussia, Egypt, Persia, China, Germany, Sweden, and other areas. The edgy designs possess a timeless appeal that makes them especially attractive to contemporary designers, tattoo artists, crafters, and others.