Masterpiece Museum #4: Crane's Return of a Favour; Japanese Childrens Book 1987

Description: For sale is one beautifully preserved vintage copy of Masterpiece Museum: Crane's Return of a Favour, published in Japan by Kokusai Joho Sha in 1987. This is book #4 from Collection 2 of the series. All books in this series are printed in Japanese language. Crane's Return of a Favour is a quite famous Japanese folk tale, considered to be "one of the best known". There are in fact two variations of this tale - the one told in this book, and an alternative where the crane masquerading as a human woman marries the man who finds her injured in the woods. This variant is titled Tsuru Nyōbō (The Crane Wife). This gorgeously illustrated children's book series features folk tales, mythology, fairy tales, fables, and fantasy stories both from Japan as well as from all over the world and different cultures, reimagined and published by Japanese authors and illustrators for a young Japanese audience. Many books in the series feature different artists who brought their own unique and striking style to each individual story. This is a hardcover, first print-first edition, original vintage 1987 copy of this title, and has been kept in stunningly beautiful condition. It appears almost like-new, with vibrant colours and stiff semi-gloss pages that have no tears, creases, and none loose or missing. Both the front and back covers are intact and glossy, with only very minor generalized shelf and storage wear. The spine and binding is tight and intact. There is no handwritten notations or drawings inside. This series has also proven quite difficult to find any prior information on. Several hours of research led us only to an animated television series of somewhat similar name, subject, and frankly similar artistic appearance. This series was called: World Masterpiece Theater, and it ran on Japanese television networks from 1969-1997. It was produced by a collaboration of Japanese animation studios that would help build the foundations for some beloved animation houses, like Studio Ghibli. We were not able to determine with any certainty whether these two long running series were actually affiliated in any way or not, but the animation series certainly came closest in relation to the books regarding subject, style, and era, and in any case we found it fascinating enough to include as background for this listing. Photographs show the actual item for sale. Domestic buyers will receive USPS Media Mail Shipping for a flat 3.00 cost for this listing. --- We ship Worldwide and to all Military addresses (APO, FPO, DPO). Important information for all buyers: Payment must be made within 4 calendar days of commitment to purchase. We will always attempt to ship items same-day of cleared payment, or within 1 business day. Parcel movement on tracking information may experience delays due to USPS non-business hours at time of payment, federal holidays, USPS closures, or transit complications and extreme weather events. Should any other delays occur, we will contact you immediately with information. All items are coming from a smoke-free, pet-free, environment. Items obtained from third-parties are always inspected, cleaned, and disinfected prior to listing. All sales final. Please forward any questions through messaging, and we will get back to you as soon as possible! Important Shipping Cost Information for International Buyers: While we do sympathize with the rising costs of export from the United States, please understand that the displayed shipping costs that you see on any of our product listings are not decided by us, and we can not see these figures on our end. All International shipping costs are calculated automatically by eBay, using The United States Postal Service's (USPS) current estimates based on the Buyer's shipping address. **As of 16 June 2023, our listings will automatically only be offering eBay International Shipping as for all International sales. Please be aware that once the parcel is in eBay's custody (once it has reached their US Domestic Hub), they MAY open the parcel for review and repackage it themselves. Seller is not responsible for inadequate repackaging that results in damage to items. Should items arrive damaged due to gross-mishandling or poor repackaging, or be lost in transit entirely, eBay is the responsible party for this loss, and will compensate once a report has been made by the Buyer. eBay will also be fully responsible for continuous tracking information of the parcel from the US Domestic Hub onward, and for the handling and compensating on any return requests.**

Price: 14.99 USD

Location: Portland, Oregon

End Time: 2024-11-16T20:56:43.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3 USD