Japanese Physical Training
One of the projects I've been working on this summer is sorting through the Kishi Collection. Over the past four years we have added about 1,200 books from the personal collection of Mr. Yoshio Kishi to Special Collections, but there are still 136 boxes of unprocessed materials.
Here's a shot of about half of those boxes:
It's a great mix of stuff -- mostly books, though there is a chunk of material that will remain together and be described with an archival finding aid. I am opening each box then sorting through the contents to determine where the books will reside. Recent secondary works will be added to the circulating collection in Bobst, but there are a lot of amazing historical gems that will remain in Fales. Like the contents of this box:
If you've been following my blog, you know that I am a huge fan of decorative cloth bindings. I had a great day recently when I opened half-a-dozen boxes just like this one.
This title caught my eye:
Japanese Physical Training: The System of Exercise, Diet and General Mode of Living that has made the Mikado's People the Healthiest, Strongest, and Happiest Men and Women of the World. by H. Irving Hancock. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904.
The title alone is great, but the whole thing is illustrated with photographs:
It's a whole book about jiu-jitsu from 1904! And there's plenty more where this one came from. It will take a long time to get everything into BobCat, but it's going to be an amazing resource for all sorts of cross-cultural research. Watch this space for more select gems!