A lifelong enjoyment of fireworks led me to start collecting memorabilia relating to the great British firework manufacturers which I remember with much enthusiasm from the garden displays of my childhood in the 1960s and 70s. There was always a huge build up to the annual Guy Fawkes Night celebrations with fireworks first appearing in shops in late September and promptly disappearing again after November 5th. Counters would appear in virtually every newsagent and toy shop crammed with colourful, carefully
Sadly the great British brands such as Astra, Benwell, Brock’s, Lion, Pain’s, Rainbow, Wells, Wessex and Wilder’s are now a distant memory as these names have nearly all disappeared and those which remain such as Standard simply import all of the fireworks sold today for garden displays. This is not to say they are not excellent fireworks but they are definitely of a different nature to the British ‘Blue Touchpaper’ type fireworks which finally disappeared in the mid-1990’s.
As my collection of firework memorabilia grew, I noticed I had built up quite a collection of the adverts for fireworks which appeared in comics, newspapers and magazines to accompany the annual celebrations. I remembered several of these well and decided to try to build up my collection as they are a good aid to dating fireworks, boxes, etc., and also portray a great social history. If you have any additional adverts to those shown on the site and would be prepared to provide a copy and any details you hav