Asai Hironobu 淺井廣信, editor — New Crest Book [Shin Monchå Daizen] 新紋帳大å-¨

Asai Hironobu 淺井廣信, editor. New Crest Book [Shin Monchō Daizen] 新紋帳大å-¨. [Unsōdō 芸艸堂]. Kyoto. Meiji 26 [1893]. 18 x 12cm volume string-bound Japanese-style, fukuro-toji with decorated wrappers and original woodblock prints. The Japanese title 新紋帳大å-¨ [Shin Monchō Daizen] is printed vertically in the center of the cover with a horizontal label with the printed title "New Crest Book'' below it. The first cho has a different title, with an introduction on the rear, followed by a five cho index to the family crests, in brown ink with decorated borders on the top and bottom (the title page also has a border on the binding side). The index is organized alphabetically the traditional way, beginning with "iroha" いろは. 70 numbered cho of original woodblock print family crests printed in black ink follow, with a final [6] cho of crests (mon ç´‹). The main body of designs features over 1300 crests, with 24 crests per side for approx 52 and a half cho. Each cho is inside a block, with a line of Japanese text identifying it above. The rest of the sections examine different aspects of crest design, such as the positioning of the left and rise sides (cho 53-4), symmetry within the circle (cho 56-9) and, interestingly, the mapping of the scents of Genji (源氏香の図, cho 60-2). Foxing on cover and binding and pages throughout. String is split on the bottom of binding. .