Ten-Bamboo Studio decorative letter papers, Shizhuzhai Jianpu Rongbaozhai, Beijing, 1952Various owners | 各方藏家Ten-Bamboo Studio decorative letter papers, Shizhuzhai JianpuRongbaozhai, Beijing, 1952four volumes in a clothbound slipcase, 31.4cm L, 22.5cm W, 5.5cm DProvenance:Private collection, MelbourneOriginally compiled by the late Ming dynasty seal carver Hu Zhengyan (1584-1674), this collection of decorated letter papers was re-issued by Zheng Zhenduo and Lu Xun for about 200 copies in the 1940s, albeit incomplete due to the condition of the master copy, and then about 300 copies in 1952 - this time in complete collection. Both executed in the spirit of "reviving the traditional and classic methods of Chinese colour printing", the colour printed collection incorporates the blind-stamping technique of gauffrage (gonghua 拱花 "embossed design" or "arched pattern") where a dry woodblock is pressed into the paper to create a subtle, low-relief design. On the 1952 edition, Jan Tschichold remarked "the finest issue. An incomparably perfect facsimile; the best printed book of modern times anywhere."十竹齋箋譜 雕版印刷 四卷 北京榮寶齋 一九五二年傳承：墨爾本私人收藏《十竹斋笺谱》由明代书画家、金石家胡正言主持编辑并督造。胡氏字曰從，徽州休寧人，流寓金陵，室名曰「十竹齋」，以製箋篆印為業。胡氏多才，精與绘画、篆刻、制墨。他刻印《十竹斋笺谱》，无论是构图、设色，还是施墨、印刷，都完美无缺，达到了中国乃至世界印刷史上的顶峰。胡氏不但完善饾板工藝，據說更是拱花技術發明者。所谓饾版，是将画稿中不同顏色按其畫中形状刻成一块小木版，然后依次逐色套印，最后形成完整的彩色画面。所谓拱花，则是用凸版压印紙張而成，使天际的行云、江上的流水、禽类的翎毛、虫类的须腿、花朵的轮廓、器物的纹饰等，都一一突现纸上，具立体效果。除此箋譜外，胡氏尚有《十竹齋書畫譜》一書流傳，對於提升中國明末雕板印刷藝術貢獻極大。《十竹斋笺谱》的明末原版存世極少。其一由郑振铎先生与鲁迅先生與三十年代初發現並请北京荣宝斋依然用"饾版"和"拱花"术仿原件复制，歷七年始成，印約二百本，卻非足版，其時魯巡已故，鄭氏悲喜交加中為書撰序。1952重版增補重印，足版，復三百本，鄭氏又作重印序。《十竹斋笺谱》被鲁迅誉为"明末清初士大夫清玩文化之最高成就"，鲁郑联手翻刻此书，传为文坛佳话。