Matchbook Art

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional collection
Review: This folio of matchbook images collected by Yosh Kashiwabara comes from his collection first started when he moved to the U.S. from Japan in 1957. To viewers in 2001, these (wonderfully reproduced in full color) images are as romantic and foreign as they must have been to Mr. Kashiwabara as a recent immigrant to the States. Accompanying text is absent, and indeed would seem superfluous, as the matchbooks literally and figuratively speak for themselves. The images appear to be high quality photos or scans which reveal creases and snags and that marvelous slight misaligning of colors that often happens with screen printing. Dynamic design and lush color make this a great document of marketing as well as an asthetic pleasure. Unexpected delights include examples wherein the matches themselves feature illustrations and witty jokes, intentional or otherwise ( one matchbook features a burning dreamhouse with the warning " insure against carelessness".) Chronicle Books would do well to reprint this collection.