Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Book in excellent unread/unused condition. Not in English. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> It is the year 2000 A.D. and another century has drawn to a close. Exactly a hundred years ago in 1900 John Ruskin died at the age of eighty-one. Ruskin developed his reputation as an art critic and social thinker in the latter half of the nineteenth century during a period which witnessed the splendour of Britain’s leadership. In the midst of the sweeping changes that were taking place in society the world of “beauty” was being forgotten. Ruskin captured the minds of many when he rediscovered this world for them and reviewed its meaning in terms of the social and intellectual climate of the times. When the fresh breeze of western democracy swept Japan and excited the young towards the end of the First World War Ruskin caught their attention. One of these was Ryuzo Mikimoto. Born and raised to succeed to the pearl business that bore his father’s name Ryuzo Mikimoto instead devoted his life and all his energy to the study and promotion of Ruskin’s thoughts. He went to England with the sole object of collecting not only every published reference to Ruskin but every piece of memorabilia of his adopted teacher he could find. The library contains this precious collection as well as the Mikimoto Ryuzo books. Naturally it was in England that the most important Ruskin collections were made. Today the centre of the study of Ruskin is Lancaster University to which his collection of books has recently been transferred from the Ruskin Gallery on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. Following Ruskin’s death however his heritage was dispersed a considerable part finding its way to American universities. None the less as a result of Mikimoto’s dedicated efforts the Ruskin Library of Tokyo is second only to Lancaster University in terms of the depth of the collection. It also includes some pieces of memorabilia not owned by Lancaster (LL)