Kengtung Types (Two Volumes)

Burma (Kengtung, Shan State, presumed), 1908. Semi-limp cloth. Very Good. Oblong 8vo. 18.5 by 28.5 cm. 33 original watercolors, and one page with pencil drawings. With Shan captions, presumably translated into English which is presented on pastedown sheet on front inside cover. The drawings in both albums were drawn by a Hkon artist of Kengtung according to labels on the front of both. The albums depict tribal villagers and hill people in various colorful dress with personal effects such as smoking pipes, parasols, weapons and hunting instruments, as well as several representations of goods production and farming. The artwork is decidedly naive, a source of much charm,. The colors can be exciting and bold. The album creator might have been a man named Richard Phillimore, or something close to that, based on a handwritten inked name which isn't entirely legible. Condition: both semi-hard cloth bindings show considerable wear, with rubbing, some fraying of the cloth threads, spotting, etc. Front board label for Vol. 1 mostly perished. Vol. 2's label survives fully intact but is marred by two pieces of clear tape. Leaves within moderately to heavily age toned and having in some places a fair amount of soiling. Still, the paintings come through without sacrifice. Overall, a wonderful collection of folk art paintings on what for most is an exotic, little known culture from the past.