This Guest Research Note 1 is much ado about Nothing. The Maki print in question is 73-50A (Nothing). The essay is by David Bieling.

I call this set of images The Zodiac but Maki formally called them Animal Song + the animal name in kanji. The prints here are Animal Song. Red Lantern Gallery in Kyoto distributed them in 1968. In 1968 Haku Maki was commissioned by Red Lantern Gallery to produce the 12 animals of the Zodiac in a series entitled Animal Song. My Research Note 3 described the set briefly. This is an enhanced version. Maki did only 50 copies of each print; that was a normal run for him in that period...

Warren Davis, American, 1865-1928, "Seated Nymph," Etching, image size 8 x 5 3/4 inches, pencil signed l.r. "Warren Davis" on wove paper. Davis studied at the Art Students League in New York and became known for his etchings of idealized female figures. Many were used on the covers of Vanity Fair and Life magazines. Later in his career Davis exhibited in Europe and the United States including the Pennsylvania Academy and the Salmagundi Club.

Haku Maki Poem 71 92 - was done in 1971, one of the four years in which Maki did over 100 different prints. In 1971 he did about 5 Big prints – at least two sides are over 30 inches. In his total oeuvre he did 20+ big ones but only one Yellow This is it. It seems to be a single yellow stroke piercing the black; it is also the kanji for Mind in Maki’s mind...

A Wallace Nutting Nursing the Fire pencil signed photo. This unframed hand coloured and signed photograph print is by Wallace Nutting who was famous for his tinted photos, and those in our listings (four in total) are all sought after interior scenes. This 9-5/8" X 7-5/8" photo is mounted on a signed 10-1/2" X 7-3/4" mat and it is titled "Nursing the Fire", and it is copyrighted 1912...

This print contains Japanese hieroglyphics not real kanji. It shows "rain" "day" and maybe a bird. It is 19.3x12.6cm.

David Octavius Hill, Scottish, 1802-1870, "Portrait of Dr. Rintoul," photogravure, image size 8 x 5 7/8 inches, unsigned, printed by James Craig Annan.

Original Japanese woodblock print by 20th century master Jun'Ichiro Sekino (1914-1988) circa 1950s. Unusual column format (roughly 28" by 10" paper, 21" by 5" image), extremely unusual subject, signed "J. Sekino" in pencil lower right and numbered 67/100 lower left. In its original frame, not examined out of the frame but apparently in excellent condition. Sekino's woodblocks are found in the collections of most important art museums, including MOMA and the Art Institute of Chicago.

William Lee Hankey, British, 1869-1952, The Bridge at Corfe Castle," etching, image size 6 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches, pencil signed l.l., plate initialed l.l., artist blindstamp l.r., very rare image, number one of 12 impressions, small repair in the image.

[Note: Daniel Tretiak wrote this in 2012.] This work is now 5 years old. I set forth the main aspects of the works of Haku Maki, the main themes of his work, the main aspects of his style, and the broad range of his works. I think I did not realize in 2007 the range and versatility of his work, its drama and subtlety. Since this book was published I have written 9 research notes and many descriptions of key works. Amazon and Ren Brown Collection distribute this book...

Benton Murdoch Spruance, American, 1904-1967, "Set Pieces: Vanity of Trust," lithograph, image size 13 x 18 1/2 inches, 1949, edition of 30, pencil signed, titled and editioned. Spruance studied in Paris after winning the coveted Cresson Scholarship in 1928 while attending college at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. He studied with Edmond and Jaques Desjobert in Paris before returning to the US and continuing his nearly forty year career as a printmaker.

Late in life, circa 1999, Japanese master print maker, Haku Maki, did this shikishiban print. It is called Z1-12 (WAZA); 7.25'' x 8.25''; Shikishiban is a nearly square format. Shikishiban are often mounted on a thick, light cardboard. Japanese people like to give them as presents. The print is in the US and will be shipped from there.

Potato Z-8 12/24 Big kanji, big collage. Calligraphy and signature in silver ink. Excellent condition. 9.5" x 10.5"

who dunnit? in the style of tanaka ryohei etching

In 1968 Haku Maki completed his Animal Song series. It was 12 different prints, one for each year of the Chinese/Japanese zodiac. Each print had the title Animal Song and the kanji for the animal, which was not translated. This print, Animal Song [dragon], 14/50, is a beautiful Maki red. The dragon of the image is a very traditional Chinese character for dragon. In this print Maki used the theme dragon for the first time. This dashing abstract kanji seems to almost swirl out of the paper...

In late 2011, I received several Maki prints of 1981. These all have leather-like surfaces. I thought this was a phenomenon of that year. I was wrong. Maki actually used this surface in 1971 for a few Persimmon prints and then not again until 1981. I show here copies from my Maki archives. When we filed those images a long time ago, they were not clear enough, are still not. But I think they are with that leather-like finish. Any views most gratefully received...

William Lee Hankey, British, 1869-1952, "Light in the Cottage," Etching, image size 8 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches, 1909, edition of 9, cat: Hardie-55, pencil signed l.r, "W Lee Hankey", plate initialed l.r. and artist seal l.c.

Haku Maki was a prolific artist of modern Japanese prints in the second half of the 20th century. Many of his prints are known but quite a few remain unseen, even in the Internet age. The Emanation series was large: Maki probably produced more than 100 different prints in the series. At this advanced age, I have only seen about 30 of the Emanation prints—-and have only managed to acquire a few...