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Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s

Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s
Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s

On a trip to Japan for an ICOGRADA conference, I discovered a collection of matchbox labels at a paper museum. My friend and colleague, designer Nicole Recchia, proposed a small book, which we created with great joy for Mark Batty Publishers (NYC). The accordion-fold binding and tiny, inscrutable images opened up the Japan of the 20s and 30s, when modernization and graphic design were in the hands of the widest variety of individuals and small businesses, revealing a spirit of experimentation that may continue to inspire us today.

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