I was browsing around on eBay and came across a listing for a "Meiji era painting" with a starting bid of $1 and free shipping, and, well, I ended up actually winning the auction for $1 shipped.
I'm happy to have it in my collection as a piece of wall art, and after framing it with a matte, the little torn off bit isn't even visible. Fortunately for me I had no other bidders to compete with, enabling me to snatch it up for a mere $1.
I initially thought it was a Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige of No. 5 in the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusantsugi no uchi)., titled Hodogaya -Shinmachi Bridge (Hodogaya -Shinmachi-bashi, 保土ヶ谷 新町橋 ) which was originally published by Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeido) in 1832/33 , however, comparing this "print" to known originals, I see many differences in the image as well as the calligraphy and seals, so it's definitely a reproduction created from different carved blocks, perhaps as an item sold to tourists. It shows a lot of age, so it appears to be an older reproduction.
I'm used to woodblock prints being on paper, so I'm quite puzzled by the fact that this is printed on some form of linen or fabric, but what's even more puzzling is the fact that the roofs of the houses, the brick walls, the trees, even the people's clothing, all have this velvet like feel to them, and I'm not sure what that's called nor what the process is, etc, so if you know something about this, please comment and let me know.
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