Fashionable Mélange of English Words by Kamekichi Tsunajima
Fashionable Mélange of English Words by Kamekichi Tsunajima

Fashionable Mélange of English Words

Vintage Editions
$85.00
Size

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details
Artist Statement
Back to school is around the corner (or already here for some of us!), and we’re celebrating the start of a new semester with a little language lesson: Fashionable Mélange of English Words. Today’s new Vintage Edition comes by way of Meiji era Japanese printmaker Kamekichi Tsunajima, and is a delightful dalliance in illustration ever-so-slightly lost in translation.

Created in 1887, Fashionable Mélange of English Words is one of several woodcut prints from Tsunajima’s series titled Ryūkō eigo zukushi (A Collection of Fashionable English Words). This conversion chart is both charming and a little bit cheeky with a smattering of skillfully illustrated translations for animals, objects, activities, and adjectives. A few amusing misspellings like “refreshuig” and “gaot” and fun pursuits like “looking moon” make these transcriptions all the more enjoyable.

Rendered with fine lines and an economic color palette, Fashionable Mélange of English Words follows similar stylistic techniques popular at the time during a cultural shift in ukiyo-e design. It exhibits rich but simple color saturation similar to Unai no tomo and delicate dynamism as in Dōtonbori.
Why We Love It

Both historically intriguing and visually happy-making, this makes for a picture-perfect print for a little lighthearted learning. Pick one up for your school-age studier or frame one for yourself for a gleeful office palate cleanser. Whatever the setting, school’s in session!

Details

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches and maximum of 2.5” to allow for framing.

Medium

Innova Soft White Cotton IFA 15

10"x8" | Edition of 10
14"x11" | Edition of 100
20"x16"| Edition of 25
24"x20" | Edition of 10
30"x24" | Edition of 5
Artist - Vintage Editions

Vintage Editions

For our Vintage Editions series, our curators scour historical archives for both timeless classics and heretofore unseen gems. These images come back to life as exhibition-quality prints now available to everyone. As a bonus, purchasing equals patronage: sales from Vintage Edition prints go towards supporting our growing roster of artists.