Ezaki Reiji
[Collage of Babies]

Public Domain

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Images(2)

Artist Ezaki Reiji(Japanese, 1845–1910)Japanese, 1845–1910

CultureJapanese

Titles

[Collage of Babies]

Date1894

PlaceTokyo, Japan

MediumAlbumen silver print, photomontage

DimensionsImage: 10 5/8 × 8 3/8 in. (27 × 21.3 cm)
Sheet: 10 5/8 × 8 3/8 in. (27 × 21.3 cm)
Mount: 15 1/4 × 13 7/8 in. (38.7 × 35.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Anne Wilkes Tucker in honor of Yasufumi Nakamori

Object number2010.1897

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

In 1872 Reiji Ezaki opened his photographic studio in Asakusa,
which was known as the entertainment district of Tokyo, and became one of the
city’s leading photographers within several years. Access to new technologies
was somewhat limited, but Ezaki imported materials such as the faster gelatin
dry-plate negatives available in the West. He is said to have photographed as many
as 1,700 babies in only three years, and he created this collage—featuring
babies under the age of one, according to the Japanese text on the side—to
advertise his business. The collage testifies to his talent for handling
children of this notoriously unruly age, whose attention he caught with rattles
and drums while quickly taking their portraits.

ProvenanceAnne Wilkes Tucker, Houston; given to MFAH, 2010.
Exhibition History"Utopia/ Dystopia: Construction and Destruction in Photography and Collage," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 11 March - 10 June, 2012.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Printed in red, lower left of mount: Esaki // ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHER, // ASAKUSA-PARK TOKYO, JAPAN.

Printed on left edge of image: [Written in Japanese - Literal translation: Meiji (Emperoro’s Year) 27 (1894) November 29, Copyright owner, younger than 1 year old, naked, children, group photographs, Ezaki Portrait Studio. Natural translation: Grouped photograph of naked babies under 1 year old, copyright owned by Ezaki Portrait Studio, in November 29, 1894. ]

Printed sideways, lower left edge of image: All Rights Reserved. // A photograph collected bare children less than one year old. // Esaki photographic shop. Asakusa-park Tokyo, Japan.

Sticker verso mount lower center, mostly illegible: ...CHINESE & JAPANESE // BAZAAR // Importers & Dealers In // ALL kinds of Fancy Goods, // ..., SILK HANDKERCHIEFS, FANS, ...// ...DUPONT ST. Cor. Commercial. // ...

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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