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Can't Imagine The Patience Involved During Early Chinese Snuff Bottle Carving

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Author Topic: Can't Imagine The Patience Involved During Early Chinese Snuff Bottle Carving  (Read 3918 times)
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George
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« on: April 15, 2012, 04:18:40 pm »

I have some experience with grinding, sanding and polishing different minerals.. Even today with electricity and different diamond abrasives it is still a long process..

I have tried until I am blue in the face to drill agate.. It is a terribly time consuming and usually agrivating process even with electricity and modern diamond drills..

Have not had any luck finding out just how exactly such a hole would have been done.  I can only imagine that it would have been bamboo type drills with slurry of abrasives like garnets and corundum. Then the process to actually hollow a bottle out !  Good grief ...  Shocked

Wanted to share a couple of picture to give an idea of tooling equipment that Early Chinese Lapidaries used..



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« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2012, 04:27:22 pm »

Yup, and look at the quality they achieved, George!
  I have a Ming Nephrite white Jade pendant. YF Yang convinced me to buy it, so that I would have a benchmark from which I could compare Qing Jade snuff bottles, to stay at a high quality level. It really works, though you can get aggravated since Qing dynasty jades are not as fine as Ming dynasty jades. But it has still helped train my eye.
  Joey
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« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2012, 11:44:22 am »

Thanks George,

I also find something interesting to read on Huge moss site, it also have a lots illustration on how the bottles hollowed, including the bottle neck issue addressed on your another post...

http://www.e-yaji.com/books/Hitt/index.html#/26/

Steven
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« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2012, 03:10:32 pm »

My computer is loading really slow today for some reason..

I made it through most all the lapidary related pages, but not seeing any reference to the throat opening issue..

Will have to come back when my computer is uploading better !

Great find Steven.. I have seen this book on eBay many times for very cheap.. I am going to order it next time I see it now !

Thank you for posting this !
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« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2012, 03:21:32 pm »

George, If I remember correctly, Henry Hitt was from Washington State. An original copy of his book from the 1940s is VERY RARE. The reprint is not. It is equally good for the info, though.
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« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2012, 01:11:58 pm »

Out of curiosity, how much would an original Henry Hitt book go for?  With the original binding from the 1940s?
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« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2012, 02:58:30 pm »

Ted,
   Probably over US$1,000, I would suppose, though I've not seen one offered for sale in 20 years! It is probably more of interest as a collectible connected with snuff bottles, because, with the accordion design, and the old glue from the 1940s, it would NOT be very useable, I'd imagine.  I wanted an original, but now am glad I've got a reprint in my library. It would frustrate me to have an original and not be able to use it. But that's me.
  Joey
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« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2012, 09:58:17 pm »

Thanks Joey, I really appreciate knowing that.
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« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2012, 03:13:21 am »

Dear Ted,
   If you recheck my previous message, I've corrected it. I'd meant to say it would NOT be very useable. But, of course,
like all genuine collectable objects, being useable is not the primary issue. Authenticity is.
  Sorry if I was unclear before.
 Best, Shabbat Shalom, Joey
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« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2012, 02:47:48 am »

I'm very late picking up on this thread.

George, thanks for the illustration of a Chinese lapidary. Where did you find that?

I have the Henry Hitt book too (NOT the original, only copy). It's a worthwhile addition to anyone's library.

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« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2012, 02:55:21 am »

Gosh.. me too, and I just realized that I may have an original Henry Hitt book, pretty sure, but need to check it, unless it is one of the first reprints!!!  I had NOOOO idea the original was so rare.
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« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2012, 04:35:52 am »

Nope ... not an original ...  nice dream though  Grin
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« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2012, 07:14:34 am »

That's too bad!

 Smiley
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« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2012, 09:36:33 pm »

George, If I remember correctly, Henry Hitt was from Washington State. An original copy of his book from the 1940s is VERY RARE. The reprint is not. It is equally good for the info, though.
Joey
 

I just found and purchased the 1945 second edition... !  Smiley

Been waiting for one of these to pop up at a good price.. 
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« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2012, 04:34:58 am »

George,
  The second edition is almost as rare, and possibly as rare, as the first! Congratulations!
When I referred to the reprint, I meant the copy produced by Michael Kaynes-Klitz in the 1970s. That is the one I've got.

Shabbat Shalom,
Joey
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« Reply #15 on: September 08, 2012, 09:03:03 am »

George,
  The second edition is almost as rare, and possibly as rare, as the first! Congratulations!
When I referred to the reprint, I meant the copy produced by Michael Kaynes-Klitz in the 1970s. That is the one I've got.

Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

I looked at the pics of the book showing it being the 1945 second edition, and just went ahead and snatched it up..  After going back and having another look, and better reading the description  Roll Eyes it says that in fact it is the ICSBS reprint !  I was on my way out the door when I saw it, and should have taken another minute to read the full description !

Oh well...... I really am still very happy to have this particular book. Especially for the easier referencing.. Nothing like a book over flipping pages on the internet ..

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« Reply #16 on: September 08, 2012, 11:05:31 am »


Yes, Hit's second edition was privately published by Henry C. Hitt, of Bremerton, Washington in 1945.  My copy of Hitt was as a First run by Charles E. Tuttle Company of Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan, 1978.  So it sound like there are a number of differing publication sources for this book.

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« Reply #17 on: September 08, 2012, 12:48:00 pm »

George & Charll,
    Now I'm confused! I thought that the reprint of Henry Hitt's book was done by Michael Kaynes (later forced by the UK courts to add his original surname Klitz to his adopted surname, Kaynes) in the 1970s. But it seems that it was done by the ICSBS.
   Is the reprint you've both got, from Tuttle but with an ICSBS title page/attribution ?
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« Reply #18 on: September 08, 2012, 02:25:35 pm »


Joey,

In my copy of Hitt there is no mention of the ICSBS anywhere.  It was printed by Charles E Tuttle Company, Inc in Japan.

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« Reply #19 on: September 08, 2012, 04:52:02 pm »

So there must be at least two editions published in the last 35 years; the ICSBS one and the Tuttle one.
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