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My mission is to document the human stories behind postal artifacts, specialising in the social philately of ornithology.

Feb 6, 2022, 11 tweets

THREAD (1 of 10)
On 25 Jan 2022, Japan released the second in its "Record of Nature" #stamps series. This issue depicts images from a set of 6 scrolls, dating from 1834, titled 禽鏡 (Kinkyo), in which there are 300 paintings of more than 200 #birds.
#philately

2. The scrolls are the work of the Edo-period Japanese novelist, Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848), who had his son-in-law, the painter Atsumi Kakusyu, paint the birds, adding his own commentary around them. Puctured is Bakin's portrait by the ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Kunisada.

3. To follow, I'll show each stamp next to an actual scan of the scroll from which it was adapted. Shown here is the first scroll in the set.

4. From Scroll 1, we have a Woodpecker and Oriole.

5. Also from Scroll 1, the "Buncho", a popular cage bird from Indonesia, and White's Thrush.

6. From Scroll 2, a Horned Owl.

7. From Scroll 3, a Chabot (a breed of chicken), and a Goffin’s Cockatoo.

8. From Scroll 4, a Peacock.

9. From Scroll 5, a Ruddy KIngfisher and Common Kingfisher on one stamp, and a Mandarin Duck on the other.

10. There are so many great images from these scrolls, it must have been hard to pick and choose between them. Personally, I would love to have seen this one included...

PS. Here are the links to the digitised scrolls...
Vol. 1: tinyurl.com/mt7jpt6s
Vol. 2: tinyurl.com/86pd9uk3
Vol. 3: tinyurl.com/w87r48ap
Vol. 4: tinyurl.com/4p8nuurx
Vol. 5: tinyurl.com/yvcrew8d
Vol. 6: tinyurl.com/yw6dzzr2

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