The lithography and country of origin make this pre-World War II: from the 1930s at the latest, though I expect it was made earlier.
Although this type of button was rather workaday, the card seems like a souvenir. The shape is striking, and the design gets in Mt. Fuji...
...torii gate and shrine...
...and Buddhist temple motifs.
I can't decide if the card was originally diamond-shaped. Maybe the manufacturer had the horizontal edges cut to taper, or maybe that was done later, by a purchaser (American shop-keeper?) The taper does look a bit more uneven than I would expect, if it was done when the card was made.
Even if Japan used to export a lot of pearl buttons, early 20th century cards are usually rectangular. The main card decoration I've seen before has been either label art, or the man's shirt theme:
More examples.
And a couple of nice litho cards
here.
No comments:
Post a Comment