解説Master Wood Carver at Work in Japan (1914 by Elstner Hilton).jpg
This is one of the most interesting photos I have come across in Elstner Hilton's album of photos he took in Japan.
Here, the carver adds details to an animal figure (horse?) that's galloping through the clouds or, more plausibly, through waves.
I'm impressed that this sculptor possessed the skills to use such a long and large chisel when the piece was as far along as this one was. One poorly-aimed chisel stroke could ruin the design!
Japan 1914 - 1918 I own the originals of these unpublished family photos. ... As a salesman for Atkins Saw Company, Elstner Hilton traveled to the Far East to sell commercial sawmills in the early years of the 20th century. ... Elstner Hilton was my father-in-law Frank Hilton's* brother, which makes him my spouse's uncle. ... * Elstner Hilton's brother Frank Hilton compiled a scrapbook of photographs, clippings and other ephemera at Stanford University between 1907 and 1911. ... ps: I now have reason to believe that the photos of Japan may be stock photos that Uncle Elstner purchased and pasted into his album. There may be some exceptions: the images of his sister, Miriam, and photos of logging operations in the Phillippines.