Maggs Bros.

This publication coincided with a large exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1991. It was organised by the Japan Festival Committee and the Japan Foundation. It was the first and largest exhibition about Japan since World War II, and it was part of the Japan Festival which hosted a number of important exhibitions and performances in the UK. It is difficult to overstate the complexity of printing this publication and I think it is fair to say that no British printer would have been able to handle this: The portfolio includes an original printed Sumo program, a calendar slip for January 1st 1991, a restaurant menu, a page from a business telephone directory, a Peace brand cigarette package, a label for a Kirin beer bottle, and a Japan rail ticket. Each of them is pasted on a decorated sheet relating to the object. The concertina album contains 46&49 photographs (some double-page), printed on recto and verso. The catalogue retailed for £25 at the time which must have been a small fraction of the production, printing and shipping cost from Japan.