Operatives Welfare. The Kanegafuchi Spinning Co. Ltd

Kobe, Japan: Printed by S. Ichida, 1909. First edition. Hardcover. Very good+ condition. Oblong Quarto. [4] 6pp., 17 plates, with tissue guards, one folding. Original anthracite, string-bound with tassels, cloth-covered boards, featuring circular print with floral image in black and gray, gilt lettering encircled in gilt, protected by modern mylar. Gilt edges. Light blue endpapers. Decorative endpiece. Contains table of contents at front, followed by a brief outline of the Kanegafuchi Spinning Company's welfare work, and a page titled "box for suggestions." Illustrated with seventeen striking collotypes showing the architectural structure, the production and social activities.

The seventeen photogravures show the exterior of the facility, including one folding plate, the School for Female Operatives, the Kindergarten, a flower display by female operatives, the dining hall, the bath room, tenements, two visuals of retail shops, the exterior and interior of the infirmary, the exterior and the interior of the recreation hall, the playground and the nursery. The publication was issued on the occasion of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Esposition with Japan and Canada featuring the only pavillions at this fare. Soichi Ichida was a Kobe photographer and printer specialalizing in souvenir albums. The Kanagafuchi Spinning Company was established in 1887 as the Tokyo Trading Company. After a buyout in 1890 the name was changed to Kanegafuchi Spinning Company.

The company adopted the "Mutual Relief System" with a structure recognized in Europe and America, and instituted "Welfare Work" including educational work in the so-called "Operatives' School" and a School for Female Operatives. It provided a Kindergarten, published two semimonthly periodicals, facilitated a lecture and recital program, and provided tutors for Japanese etiquette for females. In addition the company provided relief for the sick, injured and deceased by the "Kyosai Kuminai (Mutual Relief League)," dormitories for female and male operatives, sanitary and recreational programs, an annuity and savings program, and a counseling program. The Boxes for Suggestions are installed throughout the facility, a further indicator of the tight-nit Japanese business structure.

Very light wear along edges of binding. Endpapers light age-toned along edges, block with minor age-toning in margins, not affecting images. Some tissue guards with light creasing.