Sixteenth Century Romaji

[Mulboyne]

The British Library maintains an interesting image database. Since the site says "All images are branded and copyright The British Library" and the image rights are for sale, it's probably better to post links rather than the images themselves.
In the late sixteenth century the Jesuits produced a printed copy of Heike Monogatari in romaji. You have to wonder how many people would have been able to read it. Here's the frontispiece and a sample page. You can enlarge the images by clicking on them. The same work also contained a translation into romaji of Aesop's Fables.

A couple of other images caught the eye. Here's a page of adverts from a 1927 copy of the Nichi-ei Shinshi "published in London for the Japanese community". The database also has a number of Russian propaganda cartoons from 1904 like this one.

[Charles]

...The database also has a number of Russian propaganda cartoons from 1904 like this one.

Ha.. that poster is hilarious, considering what happened in 1905.

Great link, thanks. I've been browsing through some of the British Library's image archives, it's endlessly fascinating stuff, but I was mostly pulling up old British ephemera, I had no idea they had Japanese material in the online collection.

[kamome]

That is a fascinating link, Mulboyne. Thanks--hopefully I'll get some free time to read it. The romaji letters are hard to figure out, but what a cool transposition of old cultures!