Snapshots of the Past

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles] – Historic Photograph Print

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles], [between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)] — historic print
[Portraits of actors, often playing roles], [between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)]. Historic print from the Japanese Prints collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic print captures [Portraits of actors, often playing roles] in remarkable detail. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A fine choice for anyone who loves history, and a gift that gets noticed. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Twenty sheets mounted together as a scroll set this group apart, each showing an actor in a stage role, with the subject identified as Nakamura Shikan, who lived from 1831 to 1899. The prints date from the 1860s, when actor portraits were among the most popular products of the Japanese woodblock trade. Three artists contributed to the set: Utagawa Kunisada and Toyohara Kunichika made most of the sheets, and Utagawa Kuniaki made two. The multicolor printing, known as nishiki-e, gives the figures bright, layered color and fine detail in costume.

Created / published[between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)]
Medium20 prints (mounted on scroll) : woodcut, color.
Genreorganized by the Library of Congress, 2001.
NotesTitle and other information based on entry in exhibition catalog. Artists include Utagawa Toyokuni (also known as Utagawa Kunisada) (sheets 8-10, 14-16, 20); Toyohara Kunichika (sheets 1, 2, 4, 5, 11-13, 17-19); and Utagawa Kuniaki (sheets 3, 6). Artist for sheet 7 not yet identified. Nishike-e (brocade) print. Ōban size. Forms part of: Japanese prints and drawings (Library of Congress). Four sheets (7, 9, 13, and 20) Published in: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e ... / essays by Sandy Kita .... New York ..., 2001, no. 109, pp. 174-75. Exhibited: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e: shadows
SubjectsShikan, Nakamura,--1831-1899. Actors--Japanese--1850-1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,569 × 3,684 px · prints to 15 × 12 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-222078

More from the Japanese Prints collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles][Portraits of actors, often playing roles]