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Japanese matchbook art of the 1920s

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In the 1920s and 1930s, matchboxes in Japan were a miniature billboard in the palm of your hand, promising a glamorous modern life of smoky bars, marcelled hair, and nude women entwined around giant goblets of wine. Produced with a traditional woodblock, the artwork showed influences from Bauhaus and Expressionism, making them a fascinating blend of East and West.

japanese matchbook 1920s
japanese matchbook 1920s