This is a collection of artwork from assorted 1970s matchboxes. I got them from a flea market in Krakow along with some amazing Russian cigarette cards which I'll be posting shortly. The playfulness, the confidence, the cheeky appropriation (spot the nod to A Clockwork Orange) all make you remember why you wanted to become a designer in the first place. These little sleeves exude the sheer joy of mark making.UPDATE: I thought at first that these were Polish matchbox sleeves, but I've since been informed that they are a mixture of Czech, Icelandic and maybe more (if anybody recognises any other countries please let me know).
8 comments:
Hi. A couple of them are Icelandic not Polish. Just wanted to let you know.
Thanks Jónas, I didn't know. The ones shown here are all unfolded stock. They came all together and seem to date from around 1972–1977.
Sorry, but none of them is Polish!
Maybe you bought them in Krakow, but they are not Polish.
They may be Czech (or rather Czechoslovakian).
Oh, thanks for telling me. I'll amend the title and tags.
They're delicious! Great post, lovely blog.
Any chance you have bigger scans of these beauties?
hello. i looked at them very closely and they are all slovak (in the time when they were printed, we were czechoslovakia) except no 2 and 3 on the second picture, those are icelandic. the pictures are ads for various communistic coops from 60's to 80's i guess.
I'm delighted these are generating such interest! I'll have to get the cigarette cards up. I've got three books worth of them and they're beautiful. A bit trick to scan though, so I'll have to photograph them. Michael, I'll get some larger scans for you as soon as I get the chance. Paul
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