My guy and I recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary and even though we promised one another we would not exchange gifts because we’re in the process of purchasing a new car which we’re calling our “Mutual 10 Year Anniversary Gift”, my guy decided to surprise me with an amazing new doll art & photography book called “The Doll Bride of Frankenstein” from one of my favorite Japanese doll artists, Etsuko Muira and photographer Atsushi Tani.

Book Cover

“Frankenstein” is probably my favorite book of all time and I own about 20 different version of it, so you can imagine my delight when my guy gave me this amazing book featuring Etsuko Muira & Atsushi Tani’s own interpretation of some of Mary Shelley’s original ideas. There’s an obvious Hans Bellmer influence in Muira’s work but she also has her own distinct style.

The book contains about 100 pages of photos as well as text in Japanese with English translations, which was a pleasant surprise. In the book Muira explains how she has been inspired by Frankenstein in creating all her dolls which I found fascinating. I got to see some of Etsuko Muira’s amazing work firsthand at an exhibit when I was in Tokyo late last year and even though the photos are amazing, seeing her work with my own eyes was awe inspiring!

Sample image from the book