The Dawn of the Floating World 1650-1765: Early Ukiyo-e Treasures from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Originally published to accompany the exhibition of artefacts from the Boston Museum's collection at the Royal Academy London in 2001, this is a substantial study of Ukiyo-e or art objects of the floating world period in urban Edo (modern Tokyo). The "floating world" was the pleasure dimension for largely middle class men in Edo culture, which developed after a series of destructive fires in the city. Scholarly articles on the nature and significance of the art works and on the lives of selected artists are accompanied by some 140 colour plates. These present woodcuts and paintings, satirical illustrations and live drawings, screens, theatrical scenes and also some poems of the period. With bibliography, glossary and index.