This book captures both the beauty of ivory and the art form of Netsuke carving. The artist Masatoshi is a superb carver and the photgraphs of his works and others in this collection epitomize the "best of the best" in the field of this unique Japanese art form. If you like oriental art, this book is a must for the true collector. The book itself is highly collectible, although the First Edition is impossible to find.

Lavishly illustrated with color photographs of 790 netsuke (plus black and white photos of signatures) with explanatory text and organized into 45 brilliantly conceived categories. In the body of the text (new principles for collecting) Mr. Bushell fully displays the erudition one would expect from such a formidable collector but manages to do so in a way that is easy to grasp and immensely entertaining. Bravo, Mr. Bushell !