Maki’s earliest works were done in the late 1950s and remained rather unknown until the late 1960s. He first started producing prints using red ink in 1965 and this is probably the first example. It is also what I call a Big Red. It is very abstract and it fills up the whole sheet. Maki wanted his prints to have balance. This has it: the red field is pierced by three blue squares: two on the left side of the orange meteor-like strokes, and one on the right side...

This Maki print has had a charmed existence. It was printed in Japan in the mid-70s, just as Maki was beginning to leave the production of prints with kanji as the main theme and start doing then with Ceramics, mainly in the Collection series. This is the second print of his long ceramics series – some of which were simply entitled as this is with the year 75-59. This was done in 1975 and was a quite large edition 201...

The Heart Sutra with Taro by Mayumi Oda. The paper is green with a sutra printed. A sutra is a formula or rule for life. A tree with large leaves and a frog are outlined by a silver spray. It measures 38.5" wide 12.25" tall. 28/50.

Green print of Earthship by Mayumi Oda. Print 16/100. A woman sails in a ship with an owl atop her head and a boat full of vegetables. Below the ship, in the ocean a sea turtle and a whale swim by. The sun smiles down upon the woman in the ship. It measures 11.75" wide 19" tall.

This colorful print is an early Maki embossed print. It is a quite small print done in a very low run. Only 30 copies were made. Maki started doing 50 copies by 1962. Earlier he may have lacked the confidence to do runs of that size so he did 30 as shown here The three red suns are dramatic, The print is signed in white ink, an early Maki touch. The 3 suns shimmer. The title is in kanji – a rare Maki style. This is Ji hao 31 [Signal 31]...

In the period 1966-67, Haku Maki did two large series with Song as the theme. There was Flower Song, a series of 10 prints. And there was Animal Song which was Maki’s Asian Zodiac series, with 12 images. It was also a small series with small editions--50 in the case of Animal Song (released in Kyoto, so very hard to find: only one friend has the full set), I do not know who has the full set of Flower Song. Equally rare is Moon Song...

In 1971 Haku Maki Japanese Master print-maker was at the height of his creative powers. He had already done several “big” prints and turned his skills to producing dramatic prints. This Big Blue was one. It depicts a war instrument, a halberd. Maki created this design so that it showed how the character was written. He showed us how the stroke order flowed on a woodblock print...

Poem S B. This small and unpretentious print was a sleeper. Whoever sold it knew not what he had. Indeed neither did I until well after it came here to Beijing. It is a very rare 1968 Maki print. Not 1967 and not 1969. It has the kanji for Rope in the center and that is placed on a subtle but firmly done kanji for STONE - but the kanji is in there ass backwards. The correct rendering is in image 5. Mysteries abound.I have never seen the sub-title SB in a Maki print...

This long blue print is number 91 of an edition of 154 and measures 29 in. x 14 in.

Still life Woodblock print of Vase by Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963.) Artist's Seal: "Tomi." Date: 1955. Publisher: Adachi Hanga. Medium: Woodblock Print. Impression: Very good, printed on long-fiber Japanese paper...

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) Oath of the Women from Lysistrata Bloch 267-272. Original pencil signed etching from the deluxe edition of 100 signed etchings. Printed by Roger Lacourière (French, 1892–1966) Date: 1934 Medium: Etching Dimensions: plate: 8 11/16 x 5 3/4 in. (22.1 x 14.6 cm) sheet: 15 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. (38.4 x 28.3 cm) Condition is very good some minor staining and foxing very slight minor surface creasing.

The strokes in this print are "U", no meaning. This is an early print using Hiragana. It is two brush strokes piercing the space, leaving a trace of itself before coming to the bottom of the paper. It has but one splash across the top and a red tear along the side and then: Whoosh it goes as in the red image at the bottom. There is one sun at the outer edge of the stroke and two moons inside the curving stroke. Not so simple after all.

Poem 70-73 Taiwa (Level or peace), 31/106, 17.5”x 24.5”. Haku Maki produced this Big Green print in 1970. His Big prints-—large for him-—appeared mainly in the period 1968-75. This print, the only horizontal one of all his Big prints, depicts the kanji for Level, Peace and the like. I believe it has other meanings. When I first saw this image many years ago but had not seen the bottom margin clearly, I thought it was a stylized rendition of Woman, a very frequent Maki subject....

In 1981 Haku Maki suddenly produced a modest series of prints with a vinyl (old leather)-like background. I have already written about several of these in my Research Note 8. Now I present another: a striking orange red persimmon with leaves tipped with a special Japanese lacquer and the background in vinyl. This is 81-31 and it is 175/190.

Work 73-5 is a funny, lively snowman--or snow child. It is number 28 of an edition of 103 and measures 9.5in W x 17.5in H.

Dealing with challenges and difficulties can keep your mind sharp. The print is number 140 of 152.

Haku Maki was a Japanese print master of the late 20th century. His prints at the time this one was published were strong on the use of kanji and abstract designs, as shown here. In this case; the design is abstract, it shows archaic images which we are trying to understand. The print is large, well designed and carried off. The seller Ashley Brasca of Winnipeg Canada wrote to me about this print: “It is special because of the texture and physical quality achieved on the surface. This ...

Rare pencil signed and numbered lithograph by American and Taxco, Mexico artist William Spratling (1900-67). This depiction of Fiesta Mexicana was printed in 1931 from the original drawing for Spratling's 1932 book LITTLE MEXICO. Signed Spratling in the lower left and numbered 11/35. Litho measures 11 1/2" X 7". Measurements with matting - 12 1/2" X 11 1/2". The piece is not framed. Beautiful original condition. This image introduces the chapter FIESTA MEXICANA on page 69 of Spratlings' LITTLE M...