Firecracker Boards

I was going to save this for July 4th, but I just couldn't wait. Later this week, Morphy Auctions of Pennsylvania will be offering over 1,300 lots of pyrotechniana from the collection of George Moyer. You may have read about his five decades of collecting all things firecracker-related in the New York Times, a couple of weeks ago. The labels, of course, are endlessly fascinating for their iconography and design, but for me the gems are the salesman's sample boards. The careful arrays of sparklers, roman candles, rockets, pinwheels, cones, etc., all seem to hint at the spectacular displays awaiting the user.

You can see all 19 of them, and slightly larger images of the ones I’ve posted, here.