History of the Fan

History of the Fan

IT is, perhaps, a little singular that up to the present no work making any pretension to completeness has appeared in English dealing with that little instrument so intimately associated with both civil and religious life of the past, the Fan. Even on the Continent the literature of the Fan is exceedingly scanty. M. Blondels work, Histoire des ventails, published in 1875, is but sparsely illustrated, and is mainly based upon the researches of M. Natalis Rondot, whose Rapport sur les objets de Parure was undertaken at the instance of the French Government in 1854. An English translation of M. Octave Uzannes brilliant sketch appeared in 1884, and is unillustrated except by fanciful border designs; while Lady Charlotte Schreibers stately tomes and Mrs. Salweys Fans of Japan deal only with more or less isolated portions of the subject. These, together with Der Fcher, by Georg Buss, appearing in 1904, one or two illustrated catalogues and a few desultory magazine articles, form the sum-total of the Fans literature. This paucity of book material, and the general absence of information amongst individuals, is at once an advantage and a disadvantage. I have in dealing with this subject such benefits as the breaking of new ground gives; I have at the same time to contend with the difficulty of collecting information from sources so scattered, and in many instances so obscure. To the works above mentioned, which indeed have been most helpful, it is only justice to add the admirable article on Les Disques crucifres, le Flabellum, et lUmbella, in La Revue de lArt Chrtien, by M. Charles de Linas; the sparkling and entertaining History on Fans by Henri Bouchot in Art and Letters for 1883; an excellent article on Chinese Fans by H. A. Giles in Frasers Magazine for May 1879; articles in[Pg x] various publications by MM. Paul Mantz and Charles Blanc; all these I have freely used, and gladly acknowledge my indebtedness. But, since it is scarcely possible, in a subject covering such an extended area, to avoid inaccuracies of some sort, I must endeavour to forestall any possible criticism by saying that no pains have been spared to render the book as free from errors as may be. As to the line illustrations, they must be considered merely diagrammatic, and not in any sense realistic representations of the various objects. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 46136
Author: Rhead, G. Woolliscroft (George Woolliscroft)
Release Date: Jun 29, 2014
Format: eBook
Language: English