These 19th Century Firework Illustration Now Digitized

Six catalogues dating from the early 1900s featuring a multitude of sparkling patterns of fireworks have just been digitized online.

In the 19th century a burgeoning fireworks industry, determined to find its place on the foreign market, had to find a way to share its products despite the language barrier. With more than 100 rockets on offer, it was difficult enough to describe the beauty of the colours and the perfect shape of the fire during its explosion in the sky in words anyway. Fortunately, these illustrations were the appropriate solution, allowing their creators to represent these luminous spectacles piercing the night sky. First used for commercial purposes, the catalogues are today perused with a purely aesthetic eye, appreciating the rich emulsion of colours across the pages.