Mapping Isabella Bird: Geolocation & Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880)

Illustrating the Book

Isabella Bird's two-volume work Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880) is richly illustrated with wood engravings. Although Bird occasionally takes personal credit for the images, many of them were adapted from original photographs that could be bought in Yokohama photography studios such as that of Baron Raimund von Stillfried (1839-1911). Other illustrations were adapted from Japanese paintings that Bird may have sought out on her trip.

Several of these images, especially those depicting Ainu culture, are annotated with information regarding the original source image. This represents the ongoing art historical research of Christina M. Spiker. She writes specifically about Isabella Bird and the the Ainu illustrations in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan in this chapter.

Below you can examine the illustrations, view a growing list of annotated images showing the ongoing research of Prof. Spiker, or learn about the wood engraving process.

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