ANTIQUE C.1920 JAPANESE HAND CARVED WOODBLOCK HANGI / TEA ADVERTISEMENT

Description

A woodblock stamp from a business that sold tea. The business was named for it's owner  "Izumitani". They were based in Osaka and it's advertised as "Good Tea" They had a phone number (3053 no area code) which helps date this to the early 1900's.
It's 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches  (12 x 9 cm) and 7/8 inches thick (2.25 cm).
Historically w
ood blocks were the only way the Japanese knew to print documents / books or pictures until the late 1800's. (After that they went to movable type and lithographs.)
Often these woodblocks would be used and then eventually the wood would be planed down and used / carved again for something else. This was because having the right kind of tight grained seasoned Japanese cherry wood was valuable.
Consequently there are not a lot of these around, most of them eventually being destroyed. Because most of Japan's city's were burned during WW2, this would have resulted in a lot of them disappearing also. (
Most printing was done in the cities.)
When these were made a calligrapher would be called to do the writing / design. The wood carvers would then copy that writing / design exactly . . . backwards. (So it would print correctly) These are a work of art and skill.
This is a relatively rare item. We have a small collection we will be listing.
And please judge the quality of this hangi based on the carving itself and not on our attempt to make a copy. Printing back then was also a skilled profession.
We have been selling Japanese antiques for 23 years. We are shipping from Los Angeles.
We have other antique/vintage Japanese items on our ebay site. We will combine items for shipping if we can safely do so.
And if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, return it within 14 days for a no questions asked refund.
Notice:   If you want to combine items, or are buying internationally, contact us about shipping before payment. We can often give you a lower price than the computer generated ebay shipping price.