Users Help Guide for Fuld's Netsuke and Ojime Index on www.internetsuke.com

(FNOI), ver 9.0 © S. S. Fuld, 1996 2006

Extracted from the "Supplemental Installation Guide for Fuld's Netsuke and Ojime Index." Written by Sal S. Fuld & Edited by Norman L. Sandfield (September 21, 2005). All of the information about installing the FNOI-CD directly on your own computer has been removed. For the complete file visit Supplemental Installation Guide for Fuld's Netsuke and Ojime Index.

The original CD version of the database contains several support files: Help File, Introduction, Read Me, and User Guide. Some of the files have screen images that are not included here. The Installation Guide is only on the CD ROM.

Please note this disclaimer from Mr. Fuld: "A great effort was made to check and cross reference all the data. Despite all that effort, there might be discrepancies, errors, and so on."

Introduction

On behalf of Sal Fuld, the International Netsuke Society, and President Joe Kurstin, I want to welcome you to a User's Guide for Fuld's Netsuke and Ojime Index, (FNOI), ver 9.0, now available on the Internet at http://www.internetsuke.com/fuld.

This valuable software, the product of 10 years of hard work, provides detailed information on where to find illustrations of 60,400 signed netsuke and ojime. Once you learn how to work with it, you will find it to be a truly invaluable resource.

Purpose of FNOI

FNOI is an Index, allowing the user to find the original sources for illustrations of netsuke and to access the information on those netsuke, even when the original publication is not easily available. Data that can be searched for includes:

artist's or carver's name
subject the netsuke represents
material(s) it is made of
where this information was published
other information of interest to a collector or dealer.

Relevant data on the artist, such as the school, the family name, and character codes can also be found and searched. Similar netsuke are also noted with each entry.

FNOI Introduction, V. 9.0

After TEN years of hard work Mr. Fuld released version 9.0 of the FULD'S NETSUKE & OJIME INDEX. In 2005. He encountered many problems, which were not completely resolved. A few obstacles that were encountered include:

As there are so many records, it is difficult to add them unambiguously.
In the books, catalogues, etc., the transcription of the names is not unambiguous either and/or rather incomplete. The same goes for the description of the SUBJECT. It is often arbitrary. In many cases it is not clear which ARTIST is referred to.
Some of the SUBJECT descriptions have been combined: for example: only RAT and TORTOISE were mentioned, MOUSE and TURTLE were not
It was difficult to decide whether to use KARAKO, CHILD, BOY, BABY, BABY BOY interchangeably or to choose one description for all of these subjects.
Another problem was to determine the order of the SUBJECTS, as each Netsuke has four subject options: SNAKE and SKULL or SKULL and SNAKE, SHISHI, BEAR and TIGER, BISHAMON and BENTEN, etc.
The classification of the CATEGORY presented another problem: in what CATEGORY should SNAKE and SKULL, OX and USHIDOJI, etc. be classified?
And last but not least, it was very hard to find out which Netsuke are identical, when the exact same netsuke is published in different catalogs with slightly different descriptions.

With regard to the problems stated above, it is not surprising at all that there are still many mistakes in this version of the NETSUKE INDEX. Therefore, it would be appreciated if the user would inform Mr. Fuld of any errors you come across. Even the smallest mistake is worth correcting so as to improve the next version of the NETSUKE INDEX.

The contents of this NETSUKE INDEX, at this moment, were collected from approximately 1,100 books, catalogues, magazines, etc., which are mostly in my possession. For the next version need a lot of new material is needed. Perhaps you could provide some xeroxed material, or lend some of your books, catalogues, etc.

Any remarks or questions will be greatly appreciated.

SAL S. FULD

Zeekant 102F
2586 JH DEN HAAG
THE NETHERLANDS

netsuke@wanadoo.nl

IMPORTANT

When designing the Fuld's Netsuke & Ojime Index (FNOI) there were a few considerations to keep in mind.

Version 9.0 has a new feature. For some 3,000 netsuke the system holds URLs to either pictures or documents on the Internet, regarding that netsuke. At the end of this document this feature is explained in more detail.

BASIC SEARCH GUIDELINES

There are two search options:

Simple Search

Simple Search searches these fields: Carver 1&2, Given Name, Style, Category, Material 1-3, Subject 1-4, and Description.

Advanced Search

Advanced Search allows you to choose to search in any of these fields: Artist, Style, Category, Materials, Subjects, etc.

In both you can choose: Order By, and Results Per Page.
Type in the word or words you want to find, using Boolean terminology.
- Searches are not case sensitive
- Everything is a wild card by default, for example "ant" will find "plant"
Pre-set 'Order By' options on the drop-down menu include:
- ARTIST SUBJECT MATERIAL
- SUBJECT MATERIAL ARTIST
- CATEGORY ARTIST SUBJECT
- CATEGORY SUBJECT ARTIST
- MATERIAL ARTIST SUBJECT
- MATERIAL SUBJECT ARTIST
- STYLE ARTIST SUBJECT
- STYLE SUBJECT ARTIST
- WHERE
- (EX) COLLECTION
'Results Per Page': Choose the number of records you want to see on one page.
Click on Search!
To see the details on any specific record in your Search results, click on VIEW in the right-hand column. This brings up a window similar to Mr. Fuld's "datasheet view."
Using the hyperlinks or URLs that are stored in the FNOI.

As of version 9.0, the WHERE or the SIMILAR field may hold a hyperlink or URL (Unified Resource Locator) to the collectors, auction houses, and dealers who publish information on the netsuke that are or were in their possession through the Internet.

To be able to use this URLs it is necessary to "cut and paste." Select the URL in the WHERE or SIMILAR field, copy it to the clipboard, and start your Internet Explorer or whatever program you prefer to browse the Internet. Clear the address field and paste the link. After pasting the link, press [GO] or press [ENTER]. Your browser will display the information people are sharing about this netsuke on the Internet.

The Internet is a very dynamic environment which means that what was true today is probably different tomorrow. All links were checked for validity in June 2005. You can report any broken links at netsuke@wanadoo.nl, and this will be greatly appreciated. It will also be appreciated if you report any new links to information about a netsuke on the Internet which can be added to the FNOI.

Return to Search

Norman L. Sandfield
8301 North Central Expressway
1 Ventana Way N Apt 703
Dallas, TX 75225-4536
TEL: (773) 386-1733
EMAIL: norman@sandfield.org
WEB: www.internetsuke.com