The guns of the big events rumble through our pages, but the tiny firecrackers are constantly hissing and popping there as well; it appears that much of my life as a journalist has been devoted to sedulously setting off firecrackers.

— Brendan Gill (American critic, author, and journalist, 1914-1997)

Given that the Chinese New Year is upon us, I was thinking about firecrackers, and the creativity that goes into the packaging. Some collect the labels from the packages:

Thanks for checking out my site. I have over 400 labels available for you to enjoy. Most are from my personal collection, although some have been loaned to me so that I could share them.

Cracker Packs

Collectors have a fairly large set to choose from:

Did you know that there are nearly 1000 Known Brands of Firecrackers! They come in thousands of sizes and variations. Chinese firecrackers first began to appear near the end of the 19th century and they are still being produced today. Although you can still buy a pack of firecrackers for fifty cents today, there are some rare, older Packs and Labels that have Auctioned off for Hundreds of Dollars!

Originally the designs on the packaging were very plain and written in Chinese. As factories in China and Macau began to produce more and more firecrackers for the U.S. Market, new designs were created with varying themes and brand names. The art work became very colorful and highly detailed. Animals of all types used to be favorite subjects and as time went on the brands sometimes reflected events occurring in our society. Currently these designs have become quite plain again with little detail or color. The value has also declined with the quality.

Cracker Packs