We have just added these four prints by Gekkô from the series Essays by Gekkô Gekkô zuihitsu [月耕隨茟]. They are catalogue numbers P411, P412, P413 and P414 or numbers 44, 43, 27 and 28 of thr series.
We have other prints from the series (P234, P260 and P261), but the latest prints illustrate the decline in paper quality even in Japan towards the end of the 19th century. Our most recent four prints have not been cared for. They are water stained, dirty and a bit mouldy, but the biggest problem with their condition is that the paper is starting to disintegrate because of acid degradation of wood pulp in the paper. These prints are reissues by Daikokuya Heikichi (not by the original publisher Takekawa Risaburô) made at almost the same time as the original edition. However, Daikokuya Heikichi really cut back on the quality of paper as the prints we have from the original edition (below) do not have the same problem.
Japanese paper is some of the best in the world and there are still some artisan paper-makers using traditional methods to transform mulberry bark into kozo.