This book traces the history of fans from biblical times to the present day.  Fans are made from a wide variety of materials and in numerous different shapes and sizes, and they come from many diverse cultures.  Originating as an everyday functional object, the fan rapidly acquired ceremonial and social significance, becoming the utilitarian sceptre of kings, the subject of conversation for blue-stockings of the seventeenth century, the toy of frivolous ladies, the vehicle of revolutionary messages, the sentimental possession of the Victorians, the mirror of the Belle Epoque, and an advertising gimmick.  Above all, fans are hand-crafted objects and therefore no two are identical, which makes recording and classsifying them an absorbing and fascinating historical adventure.

Fans (Costume Accessory Series)

Arts & Photography

Alexander, Helene

Fashion

Drama Pub

Fans (Shire Library)

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Antiques & Collectibles

Shire

Tells the story of this private museum and illustrates many of its prestigious fans.

The Fan Museum

Graphic Design

Third Millenium Pub Ltd

The Japanese fan has accompanied and reflected Japanese life and culture for over a thousand years. It is an art from which as attracted the finest artists and craftsmen, and examples take their legitimate place amongst the national treasures of Japan. Adapted for the Western market, it had attracted mass appeal by the end of the 19th century. Ushered in through the medium of the great International Exhibitions and by courtesy of Messrs Liberty and Tiffany, the West became aware of a novelty - a new art from with a level of craftsmanship in decoration, carving, Shibayama-type inlay and lacquerwork rarely seen before. Today, these export fan take their legitimate place in the history of Japanese fan and are in increasing demand by collectors. 
A comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of the Japanese fan, for both the Japanese and the Western market, has long been awaited and has only now been achieved through the collaboration of two experts in the field. Julia Hutt, a distinguished historian of Japanese art, draws on recent research to a set of fan in artistic and historical context. Helene Alexander, founding Director of the Fan Museum, Greenwich, England, provides guidance on types and techniques of fans still occasionally to be found in the art market, or current versions of the traditional fan available in Japan today, in a fully illustrated and annotated catalogue of the recent loan exhibition, Fans of the Four Seasons. 
The 200 plus full color photographs carefully selected from collections worldwide include works by Korin and Sotatsu as well as Ukiyo-e prints by Buncho, Shunsho, Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada, together with details focusing on the fine lacquer and inlay. This is an anthology of the best and most representative Japanese fans and an essential in the libraries of art historians, collectors and all interested in the Japanese way of life.

Ogi: A History of the Japanese Fan

Hutt, Julia

History & Criticism

DAUPHIN

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Books by Alexander, Helene