A Group of Five Japanese Woodblock Prints

Mid 20th century, includes two vintage reproduction prints, the first after Utamaro (1750-1806), Woman Reading a Letter Under Mosquito Net, presented loose (10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.)(good estate condition), and the second after Sharaku (active 1794-95), Actors Ichikawa Komazo II as Kameya Chubei and Nakayama Tomisaburo as Umegawa, with mica ground, presented loose (10 3/8 x 7 1/2 in.)(good estate condition), and three prints with applied black and gold lacquer of scenic landscapes with Mount Fuji in the background, artist unknown (largest image 5 x 12 in.)(two of the prints are laid down to gray backing mat and presented over an ivory mat, the third print is loose; smaller horizontal print has a circular stain to the upper right corner; the two prints with mats have stains and dirt to mat surface).

From the Historic Collection of Limestone University, Gaffney, South Carolina
Limestone College, now Limestone University, was founded in 1845 in Gaffney, South Carolina, by English-born Baptist minister Dr. Thomas Curtis and his son William. Originally established as the Limestone Springs Female High School, it was among the first women’s colleges in the nation and the very first in the state. The institution found its early roots in a former resort hotel near healing springs, later struggling due to the Civil War and Reconstruction. It revived in 1881 as the Cooper‑Limestone Institute, thanks to benefaction from industrialist Peter Cooper, and adopted the name Limestone College.