Year Published: 1996 (Heisei 8) — First Edition, First Printing
Language: Japanese
Format: Hardcover, 24.7 × 25.7 cm, 127 pages
Plates: 103 photographs — color and monochrome
Inclusions: Obi band + presentation inscription signed by the author
[OVERVIEW]
Midorikawa first went to Paris in 1959. A four-month solo journey. He returned seven times. Paris d'Hier et d'Aujourd'hui is what those eight visits became — 103 photographs, color and monochrome, tracing the city's grain across four decades.
He was known in Japan as the "Magician of Color." The Seto Inland Sea made his name. But Paris was where he kept returning. The city that reveals something different each decade, to those patient enough to look.
[IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION]
While the text is printed in Japanese, you can easily read and study this historic book using modern smartphone AI tools! By taking a photo of any page with your smartphone and using free apps like Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate, the embedded AI will instantly scan and translate the text on your screen layout. Language is no longer a barrier to owning and enjoying this rare piece of international history.
[WHY THIS VOLUME IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR'S ITEM]
Presentation Inscription, Signed by the Author — Midorikawa's hand, on the page. A personal copy, given. Not a bookplate, not a stamped signature.
A Japanese Eye on Paris, Across Four Decades — From 1959 to the 1990s, Midorikawa documented Paris as an outsider with total visual command. 103 plates — the city's stones, light, and people, in color and in black and white.
Obi Band, Intact — "古都パリの年輪を写し撮る." The band that almost never survives.
[CONDITION] Very Good (VG)
Covers & Spine: Clean and well-preserved. Consistent with a 1996 first printing kept with care.
Obi Band: Present and intact.
Binding: Tight, secure, and fully intact.
Interior & Pages: Very slight toning to the page edges (fore-edge) — minimal, consistent with 30 years. No foxing, no annotations beyond the author's presentation inscription.
*Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos to verify condition.
