Marvelously Expressive Birds in Nature, Japanese Edo Period (1830-40s) Sketchbook of Original Ink Drawings E.T. Billhouse Things like this old school

Things like this old school binder full of notes give me great joy--so much poetry to some of these pages when regarded as stand alone things now

it takes a bit more pressure and knowing what one is doing to open it to reveal the ball--so the trick is not readily apparent

who signed the plate on the back

Painting size is 8" x 4 7/8"

Marvelously Expressive Birds in Nature, Japanese Edo Period (1830-40s) Sketchbook of Original Ink Drawings E.T. Billhouse Things like this old schoolI purchased this one from an excellent dealer in Japan based on photos of a few pages then waited patiently for it to arrive; opening it felt like receiving a great gift, page after page of delights. C. 1830s 40s, sumi ink on what I believe is washi paper, each page two page spread featuring birds of different varieties. I've documented it comprehensively so photos give a very good sense, though as always these things are better in hand! I love how