For sale is one beautifully preserved vintage copy of Masterpiece Museum: The King of Gold Coins (The Golden Touch), published in Japan by Kokusai Joho Sha in 1987.

This is book #5 from Collection 3 of the series. All books in this series are printed in Japanese language.

The Golden Touch was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1851, about the Greek myth of King Midas.

This gorgeously illustrated children's book series features folk tales, mythology, fairy tales, fables, and fantasy stories both from Japan as well as from all over the world and different cultures, reimagined and published by Japanese authors and illustrators for a young Japanese audience. Many books in the series feature different artists who brought their own unique and striking style to each individual story.

This is a hardcover, first print-first edition, original vintage 1987 copy of this title, and has been kept in stunningly beautiful condition. It appears almost like-new, with vibrant colours and stiff semi-gloss pages that have no tears, creases, and none loose or missing. Both the front and back covers are intact and glossy, with only very minor generalized shelf and storage wear. The spine and binding is tight and intact. There is no handwritten notations or drawings inside.

This series has also proven quite difficult to find any prior information on. Several hours of research led us only to an animated television series of somewhat similar name, subject, and frankly similar artistic appearance. This series was called: World Masterpiece Theater, and it ran on Japanese television networks from 1969-1997. It was produced by a collaboration of Japanese animation studios that would help build the foundations for some beloved animation houses, like Studio Ghibli. We were not able to determine with any certainty whether these two long running series were actually affiliated in any way or not, but the animation series certainly came closest in relation to the books regarding subject, style, and era, and in any case we found it fascinating enough to include as background for this listing.

Photographs show the actual item for sale.

Domestic buyers will receive USPS Media Mail Shipping for a flat 3.00 cost for this listing.

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