Used hardcover in Good condition. Machibako art deftly depicts Japan's swift transformation into an industrial nation in the early to mid-20th century, as illustrated in the infinitesimal advertisements on matchboxes from the period. In a changing leisure market, matches joined cigarettes in Western-style hotels and coffeehouses, and in sushi bars next door. Patrons might be found there in modern Western dress or traditional Japanese clothing, but all saw themselves reflected in the new graphism. Anonymously designed, these tiny remainders of the period showed the influence of cubism and the Bauhaus in both illustration and English type, while retaining conventional woodblock fonts and right-to-left Japanese text. This superbly produced little book is a delightful collection of images of enjoyment from the other side of the globe.
