Birmingham Antique Arms Fair - Sunday 17th September 2023

[Shugyosha]

Dear All,

I have a table booked at the Birmingham Antique Arms Fair this coming Sunday. I have some swords, tsuba, books, a yari and a sword chest to sell. Prices will be competitive and I'm open to a degree of haggling so please swing by to try to snag a bargain. Alternatively, just drop by and introduce yourselves.

 

I'll add a list of items and prices shortly and if anyone would like further details or photographs please PM me. Hope that's OK with the mods...and as I'm using the forum to plug my sale, a donation will be made. Thanks in advance for looking.

[Shugyosha]

Swords

1. Long, signed and papered hirazukuri wakizashi in shirasaya with fittings on a tsunagi by one of the later Soshu Hiromasa, so early 1500s - £3,550.

2. Signed and papered Mino tachi (well, it’s signed tachi mei but the NTHK paper lists it as a katana), dated to around Eikyo (1429 to 1441) in old shirasaya signed Munemitsu £2,250.

3. Long, decent quality wakizashi, in old shirasaya, probably sue Bizen, signed but sold as gimei £675.

 

Yari

Signed, mounted, Edo period fukuro yari with small blade in reasonable polish and hamon and hada are visible with a keen eye. Signature reads “Nobukuni” and these guys are to yari what the Sukesadas are to sue Bizen swords. A bunch of them working in (IIRC) Chikuzen in the 17^th and 18^th century bashing out spears. The haft has been cut and some of the binding on it is decayed. Saya is done in gold lacquer with a horse hair plume. £175.

 

Katanadansu

Three drawer katanadansu made from Paulownia but quite bashed about and with damage to one of the drawers. Bought from Schelma in Belgium on the basis that it was Meiji period, but it might be later - £775.

 

Katanakakke

Modern katanakakke holds 4 blades I was told it came from Japan. Made from two different types of wood, a wooden panel with tsuba design mounted in a heavier wooden frame. If it did come from Japan then I think the frame and base may be Zelkova and the panel Paulownia but I really don’t know. £175.

 

Tsuba

Boxed unless otherwise stated:

1. Ko Kinko Chrysanthemum motif tsuba in yamagane nanako in fitted box with Tokubetsu Hozon papers - £550.

2. Tosho tsuba, probably early Muromachi period, dragonfly motif. £625.

3. Large steel Muromachi period tsuba, probably Saotome school with (I think) cloud theme done in sukashi with some gold and shakudo infill - £650.

4. Papered Ko shoami tsuba with old coin motif, £350.

5. Good quality steel Kyo shoami tsuba with theme of noshi done in sukashi, £450.

6. Heavy Kaga school tsuba, steel with gold inlay of insects and Autumn flowers £375.

7. Heavy yamagane tsuba with folded rim showing Mount Fuji four times with falling show. £275.

8. Edo period tosho tsuba with mon and amida yasuri - £175.

9. Cute wakizashi-sized tsuba with geometric patterns maybe Akasaka school - £275.

10. Higo school (maybe Akasaka school) sukashi tsuba of warbler in plum tree £450.

11. 19^th century Higo school tsuba with spool for spinning yarn theme by Higo Kumagaya school or by Nakane Heihachiro - £425.

12. Russet iron tsuba signed Seiryuken Eiju plus kao. The common punched design of “seven treasures” repeated. You know the one. £125.

13. Large modern reproduction of Akasaka design “Shiguretei” – “seasonal rains pavilion” tsuba. Suitable for mounting on an Iato and free to a good home. Not boxed.

14. Good quality shakudo nanako kozuka with inro motif in a fitted box. £475.

15. Very old and worn soft-metal kozuka with motif of flowers and oxen. Sold in a soft pouch and not a box. £65.

 

Tsuba boxes

Paulownia wood, some new and some used.

Good ones £15, the bad and ugly ones £10.

 

Book list to follow.

 

[kissakai]

Hi John

I'll be there

Where is your table?

 

[Matsunoki]

6 hours ago, Shugyosha said:

have a table booked at the Birmingham Antique Arms Fair this coming Sunday.

Good luck John. “Wish I was there”.🙂

[Shugyosha]

Hi Grev,

The number is 2/3 and I'm guessing I'm in the first hall - sorry I haven't had a plan. I'll have my name on the table anyway so hopefully it'll be obvious.

 

Look forward to meeting you there.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Grev,

Yes, I'm in the first hall on the wall furthest from the entrance.

 

Best,

John

[DTM72]

Too bad I don't live in Coventry any longer. Of course, it may scare people if I were to carry a sword or two on the train back from Birmingham to Coventry.

 

Wishing you all the best with the show. May you sell everything for a good profit, and find a few gems you along the way.

 

Dan

[Shugyosha]

Hi Dan,

Many thanks for the kind words.

[Shugyosha]

Dear All,

Sorry, it has taken me longer than expected to compile and price up the book list. On NMB our general gripe is that people don't invest enough in books, well an opportunity to change that presents itself. Most of these books are hard to come by, at least in the UK and all are priced at around 50% of their cost to me or current list price on line and with the added bonus of no postage costs added to get them to you. If you can find a cheaper copy anywhere else I'll beat or better it and I'll also do discounts for bulk buys or if I just like the cut of your gib.

 

If anyone sees anything they want they can call dibs on it and I'll put it on hold until Sunday when you can either buy it or throw it back in the pool.

 

 

Swords

1. Hawley’s Japanese Swordsmiths commemorative edition. Two volume, green covers, boxed. £195.

2. Fujishiro’s Nihon Toko Jiten. Koto and Shinto editions in cardboard covers plus translations of each. £325.

3. Tanobe Sensei’s Meihin Katanaezu Shusei. Limited edition, coffee (dining?) table sized book. £375.

4. Kubikiri Asaemon Token Oshigata. Two volume set in cardboard covers, some slight fading and foxing. Another limited edition. £275.

5. Inoue Shinkai Taikan by Nakajima. Large book in cardboard cover. £175.

6. Nihonto Zuikan by Kataoka. Two volume Koto and Shinto in carboard covers. £295.

7. Kanzan Sato’s Shinto Oshigata dictionary. Soft cover. £65.

8. Toko Soran by Kawaguchi £40

9. Gendai Toko Meikan by Ono £30

10. Nihonto Newsletter by Yamanaka. Three hardback volumes. £50

11. Nihonto Koza: Five hardback volumes £75 each or £300 for the set.

12. 100 Masterpieces from the Collection of WA Compton. Hardback with cardboard cover. £35.

13. Yasukuni-to, Tradition and Ideal Beauty by Tom Kishida, spiral bound. £15

14. Gendaito Made at the Minatogawa Shrine by Herman Wallings, soft bound. £15

15. Military Swords of Japan, Fuller & Gregory. £20.

16. Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths by the Kapps and Yoshindo Yoshihara. Hardback with dust jacket. £15.

17. Hanayakane Nihonto Bizen Ichimonji. Hardback with cardboard sleeve. £75

18. Jukken  Nihon Koto Meisaku Shu by Shibata and English translation. Hardback with cardboard sleeve £40.

19. Token Kantei no Kiso Chishiki. Hardback in cardboard sleeve. £15.

20. Minoto plus supplement by Cox. Softbound. £50.

21. Muromachi ki Minotoko no Kenkyu by Suzuki. Hardback with dust jacket. £40

22. The Connoiseur’s Book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama. Hard back in dust jacket. £30.

23. Shinto Bengi Oshigata. Hardback. £10.

24. Toko Taikan by Tokuno with translation into English of the index. Hardback (translation not bound). £40.

25. Waga Kyōdo Gatana. Hard back with dust jacket. £10.

26. Token Yoran by Iimura. Cloth bound. £10.

27. Token Kantei Dokuhon by Kokan Nagayama (the Japanese text for the Connoisseur’s Book of Japanese Swords. Softback with faux leather cover and plastic sleeve £15.

28. Token Kantei Dokuhon as above but paper back £10.

29. Masamune, a Genius Swordsmith and his Lineage. £65.

30. Hizento Handbook by Eguchi Soshin translated by Gordon Robinson. £30

31. Higo Kami Teruhiro to sono Ichimon. Hardback. £55.

32. Gendai Toko Meikan. Hardback with dust jacket. £30.

33. Kashu Shinto Taikan by Ueno and Adachi. Cloth bound with cardboard cover. £60.

 

 

[Shugyosha]

Markus Sesko

Hard back unless stated

Identifying Japanese Cursive Script (paperback) £15

Identifying Japanese Seal Script (paperback) £15

Tameshigiri, the History and Development of Japanese Sword Testing. £20

Signatures of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists £35

Tosogu Classroom: volumes 1 and 2. £60 each; £95 for the pair.

The Japanese Toso Kinko Schools softback. £15.

Koshirae Taikan £35

Shinshinto Meikan (cover is upside down, or the text is depending on your point of view). £20

Koto Meikan £25

Encyclopaedia of Japanese Swords £20

Koto Kantei (paperback) £30

Shinto and Shinshinto Kantei (paperback) £30

Kantei Supplement No.1 (paperback) £20

Kantei Supplement No.2 (paperback) £20

Koshirae, Japanese Sword Mountings £15

Nihon Shinto Shi, (paperback). £20

Nihon Shinshinto shi, (paperback). £20

Kantei Reference Book £10.

Nihonto Compendium (ring bound). £5

[Shugyosha]

 

Sword fittings

Robert Haynes: The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists. The definitive English language work. Three volumes, softback, in plastic stand. £75.

Yurakusai Seki Bun Ko by Homma and Sato. £30

Kaga Kinko Taikan by the NBTHK. £125.

Nara San Saku by Yoneno. Hardback in cardboard sleeve. £150.

Higo Kinko Taikan. Hardback in cardboard sleeve. £250.

Owari to Mikawa no Tanko. Hardback in cardboard sleeve with English translation. £250.

Zabo Tansen by Kokubo and Ootsubo. Hardback in cardboard sleeve. £40.

Kurogane no Hana. Higo Tsuba Shu by Miki. Hardback in cardboard sleeve. £70.

Higo Irogane Tsuba by Sonno Heiji. Hardback. £40.

Japanese Sword Guards, Masterpieces from the Sasano collection. All you need to know about sukashi tsuba. Hard back with dust jacket. £70.

Tsuba: The Japanese Sword Guards beauty and charming Japanese 19th Century Metalwork. £20

The Hartman Collection of Japanese Metalwork by Christie’s. Cloth Bound, boxed. £25.

Nakamura Kakudayu Nobuie Tanshu. Softbound but with a card cover that has seen better days. £65.

100 Kozuka from the Claude Thoault Collection. Hardback with dust jacket. £35.

Kozuka Hyakusen (another 100 kozuka). Hardback in carboard cover. £35

Elegant sukashi: Akasaka Tsuba by the Sano Museum. Softback with ringbound translation. £40

Goto ke ju shichi dai no tosogu by the Sano Museum. £65.

The Ishiguro School of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists. Hardback with dust jacket. £30.

Tsuba Kodogu Kantei Jiten by Wakayama et al. Hardback with dustjacket (printed upside down) £15.

 

 

[Shugyosha]

Armour

Nihon Katchu Zuikan by Yoshihiko Sasama. Three volume hard back set in carboard covers. £175

The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in 16th Century Japan by Robinson and Kozan. £65

The Watanabe Art Museum Samurai Art Collection. Vol.1 by Absalom and Thatcher £40

Casques, Masques et Armures des seigneurs de l’Ancien Japon by Jean – Christophe Charbonnier. £30

Shin Katchushi Meikan £35

Japanese Armour by LJ Andersen £40

 

 

Other

All at £20 each :

Military Accessories of a Daimyo House – Treasures from the Tokugawa Art Museum No. 10.

Daimyo Ke no Katchu

Zusetsu: Sengoku Bushou 118

Zusetsu : Sengoku Jidai Katchu Shuu vol. 1 by Shoji Izawa

Zusetsu : Sengoku Jidai Katchu Shuu vol. 2 by Shoji Izawa

Nihon no Katchu – the Kyoto National Museum

Sengoku Busho no yosoi – the Sano Museum

Japanese Spears: Polearms and their use in Old Japan by Knutsen. £25

Japanese Polearms: Knutsen. £35

The Yonezawa Matchlock: Mighty Gun of the Uesugi Samurai by Jan Pettersen. £20

Index of Japanese Sword Literature by our own Grey Doffin. Ringbound. £10.

Mon, the Japanese Family Crest by Hawley and Chappelear. Ringbound. £15.

General

Shosankenshu by Henri Joly. A list of artist’s names and Kakihan. Spend many contented hours trying to track down artists by their seals alone! £30.

Japanese Art Signatures by Self and Hirose. Hard back book in dust jacket. £65.

Dictionary of Japanese Sosho Writing Forms by Otome Daniels. 1944 Edition. £25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shugyosha]

Soft cover: magazines, catalogues and periodicals

Nihon no Bijutsu No.73 Bizen kaji. £15

Nihon no Bijutsu No. 155 Shinto £15

Bushido: full set of 9 issues. £30.

Robert Haynes Auction Catalogues: £195 for the lot or individually:

No.2 £35

No.3 £15

No.4 £25

No.5 £50

No.6 £25

No.7 £35

No.8 £25

No.9 £25

Japanese Swords and Sword Fittings from the Collection of Walter A. Compton (Part 1.) £65. Well used, somewhat dogeared and with some loose pages.

As above, (part 3) £30.

Aizu and Aizu Shoami Tsuba by Massey and Wada. £10.

The Cutting Edge – Japanese Swords in the British Museum £10.

Dai Token Ichi catalogue 2014 - £25

Dai Token Ichi catalogue 2016 - £25

Various auction catalogues and soft-cover guides: illustrated £5 ; not illustrated. £1.

A (figurative) metric tonne of periodicals: Nihon no Rekishi, JSSUS, Token Bijutsu. The Japanese editions have translations in some cases but mostly not and there are duplicates in some cases so it’s a lucky dip. £1 per copy or make me an offer for a bulk buy.

Token Society of GB monthly journals: Free to a good home.

[Michaelr]

Hello John, do you know what the shipping to the USA would be for books # 1 and # 15. Thank you.  MikeR

[Shugyosha]

Hi Michael,

I'm sorry but I don't. I was rather hoping to offload as many as I could to visitors to the show before I looked at mailing them out. If you'd like them, you can have them at the listed price inclusive of shipping but it might take a couple of days for me to get them packed up and sent as I've got a lot on at the moment. Also, I can PM you some pictures so that you get a feel for their condition if you'd like.

 

Kind regards,

John

[Brian]

Some seriously great bargains there

[Shugyosha]

Sue Bizen wakizashi now ON HOLD pending examination at the show.

[Alex A]

Lot of stuff to carry into the show John.

 

Have you been in training specially for it?

[Shugyosha]

No, I’ll do it a book at a time. 
 

Bushido now ON HOLD. Thank you! 

[Mark C]

I will be there to give you a hand.

 

[Shugyosha]

Owari to Mikawa no Tanko now sold, thank you! 

[Shugyosha]

Tosogu Classroom now on hold. Thank you!

[Shugyosha]

The following items are also on HOLD:

The yari;

Seiryuken Eiju tsuba;

Nihonto Zuikan;

Meihin Katanaezu Shusei

The Watanabe Art Museum Samurai Art Collection

[Shugyosha]

Nihonto Zuikan; and

Meihin Katanaezu Shusei

are now sold. Thank you!

[Shugyosha]

Hizento Handbook now on HOLD;

Seiryken Eiju tsuba available again.

[Shugyosha]

Hawley’s, Fuller & Gregory and Shin Katchushi Meikan all on HOLD. 

[Shugyosha]

Shin Katchi Shi Meikan; Haynes Index and Military Accessories of a Daimyo House – Treasures from the Tokugawa Art Museum No. 10 NOW SOLD. Thank you!

[Shugyosha]

Many thanks to all who bought at or before the show and who came over for a chat.

 

Donation made to NMB - many thanks Brian!

[Brian]

Thank YOU John.

[Jon]

Anything still for sale ?

 

jon