The jizuri seal on original Hiroshi Yoshida prints is usually stamped in brown or black ink. However, a few of Yoshida's earliest designs were stamped with a bright red jizuri seal. As seen in the comparions below, Hiroshi Yoshida prints with red jizuri seals often vary in color from the "normal" dark jizuri versions. The red jizuri prints have dramatic bright colors while the brown jizuri prints are typically more realistic and toned down.
Yoshida prints with a red jizuri seal are rare, and some people have theorized that these prints were originally intended for the Japanese market. Japanese collectors did tend to prefer more brightly colored prints. In some cases but certainly not all, red jizuri prints lack English signatures and titles. However, there were also brown jizuri prints sold in Japan that lack an English title and signature. So it is unlikely that the red jizuri indicated a "special" version for Japanese customers.
More likely, the red jizuri seal is simply an indication of a variant color choice. Red jizuri seals are primarily found on early Yoshida prints from the North America series, Europe series, and Japanese Alps series. In 1925, Yoshida started his own woodblock studio and he devoted much of his time to printmaking. He published over 50 prints during 1925 and 1926, including many of his finest designs. Yoshida had more time and perhaps more desire to experiment with colors on his early prints. In later years, he was busy with other projects, and his son Toshi Yoshida supervised the printing of his work. |