FLOATING WORLD: JAPAN IN THE EDO PERIOD, by John Reeve. British Museum Press, 2006, 96 pp., £9.99 (cloth)
Museums frequently produce books, calendars and postcards based on the exhibits. The British Museum, however, perhaps because of the richness of its collection and the sheer numbers of people who come to see it, is able to support an unusually large publishing program. This includes a wide range of educational materials and specialist academic studies, besides the general guides.
These two handsomely produced books are but two examples from its varied publications. Each belongs to a particular series, and is lavishly illustrated from the museum's collection. John Reeve, the compiler of both books, is an acknowledged authority on Japanese artworks. The contents of each volume are arranged thematically, rather than chronologically, and on the whole this seems an appealing arrangement.