The Firework
Advert Archive

This glossary covers the firework types that appear most frequently in British firework advertisements held in this archive, spanning the period from approximately 1740 to 1997. Definitions reflect the products as they were understood and marketed in Britain during the blue touch paper era — some types evolved considerably over two centuries, and names were not always applied consistently across manufacturers. Where a firework was known by more than one common name, both are given.

A

A firework lifted into the sky by a propellant charge and designed to burst at height, scattering stars, coloured sparks or other effects over a wide radius. In the professional display trade the aerial shell is the dominant device, but smaller domestic versions — sometimes called aerial bombs or display shells — appeared in British retail catalogues from the late nineteenth century onwards. The shell casing, typically of pasted paper or card, contains a bursting charge surrounded by pellets of pyrotechnic composition. The timing of the burst is controlled by a delay fuse lit by the lifting charge. British manufacturers including Brock's, Pain's and Wells produced aerial shells in a wide range of calibres; in the garden-firework era these were generally modest in diameter compared with the large-calibre professional shells still fired today.

A tiny percussion-sensitive pyrotechnic composition, traditionally printed in spots or strips on thin paper, designed to detonate with a sharp crack when struck or pinched. Amorces are the charges used in cap guns and roll-cap pistols — a class of toy that sat at the edge of the firework trade throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. British manufacturers and importers supplied amorce caps through the same channels as fireworks, and they appeared alongside conventional garden fireworks in wholesale catalogues and retail displays. The word is French in origin, meaning primer or fuse. Cap amorces were subject to the same licensing and import regulations as other pyrotechnics in Britain, though enforcement varied greatly across the period.

B

A screaming or wailing firework, the name drawn from Irish and Scottish folklore — the bean sídhe, a spirit whose shriek heralded death. As a firework type, Banshee was a trade name applied to devices that produced a sharp whistling or shrieking report as their composition burned, achieved by packing a resonant whistle composition into a tube so that escaping gas caused rapid oscillation. The evocative name was used by several British manufacturers and became one of the most recognised firework names of the mid-twentieth century, regularly appearing in Guy Fawkes Night advertisements alongside similarly atmospheric names. The product was typically a ground-level device that screeched, moved erratically, or combined both effects.

A novelty set piece or compound firework in which a large outer casing — representing a barrel — contained numerous small fireworks designed to shoot out, jump, screech or otherwise misbehave when ignited. The name was pure showmanship: the chaos of a dozen or more small devices simultaneously active was intended to suggest a barrel full of miscreant spirits. Barrel of Demons was a popular mid-twentieth-century product name used particularly for bonfire-night retail lines, trading on the same tradition of demonic and supernatural naming that gave British fireworks their character. The device was well suited to advertisement copy, lending itself to dramatic illustration.

One of the oldest named firework effects in the British trade, Bengal Light produces a sustained, intensely brilliant flame in a fixed colour — most characteristically a vivid blue, though red, green, white and yellow versions were all manufactured. The effect is achieved by burning a slow composition containing metal salts that impart the desired colour to the flame; the blue variety traditionally used copper compounds. Bengal Lights were widely used in theatrical and maritime signalling before becoming a garden and display staple. The name derives from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, associated in the European imagination with vivid colour and spectacle. In British advertisements they appear from the eighteenth century through to the final years of the blue touch paper era, often marketed as illuminations for garden displays rather than as fireworks in the conventional sense. Also referred to as Bengal Fire in older sources.

C

Perhaps the most enduringly popular garden firework in British history, the Catherine Wheel is a pin wheel — a flat spiral of firework composition wound around a circular card former — that spins rapidly on a nail or pin when lit, throwing off showers of coloured sparks and creating a disc of fire. The name refers to the spiked wheel on which Saint Catherine of Alexandria was legendarily martyred, a symbol of suffering transformed by the firework trade into a symbol of celebration. Wheels were produced in enormous variety: single-colour, multi-colour with successive sections of different compositions, plain-spouted, star-spouted, and in a range of diameters from a few inches to impressive large-garden sizes. The sound — a hissing roar rising and falling as each section burns — is one of the defining sounds of Guy Fawkes Night. See also: Wheel.

A hand-held or stake-mounted firework producing a continuous crackling, sparkling output reminiscent of burning brushwood — the effect generated by a composition containing coarse pyrotechnic granules that fracture and spit as they burn. The crackling quality, often marketed as dragon skin or crisp gold, derives from the rapid combustion of individual composition pieces rather than a smooth-burning mix. Crackling Torch was a widely used product name in the mid-twentieth century British market, appearing in advertisements for several major manufacturers. As a type it sits between the sparkler — held quietly — and the fountain, which is ground-mounted; the torch is characteristically louder and more energetic than either.

A firework designed to produce a continuous downward flow of sparks or stars, imitating the appearance of a waterfall or flowing stream of fire. Cascades were used both as standalone garden devices and as elements within set pieces, where a cascade fitted to a frame would illuminate a scene or form a glowing curtain of sparks behind other effects. In British advertising the term was applied to both ground-mounted tubes angled to direct their output downward and to hanging devices that fell freely when ignited. The effect is produced by a composition rich in metal fuel — iron, steel or aluminium — that generates long-lasting, slowly falling sparks rather than the upward projection of a fountain.

D

A class of firework specifically designed to be effective and visible during daylight hours, when conventional coloured-flame or spark-based fireworks are largely invisible against a bright sky. Daylight fireworks rely primarily on smoke — released in vivid colours from dyes burned with the composition — together with loud reports and mechanical effects such as streamers, parachutes and confetti charges that are visible regardless of ambient light. They were used extensively in fetes, garden parties and civic celebrations where a night-time display was impractical. British manufacturers produced a wide range of daylight types; advertisments for them appear throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, often positioning them as the respectable, family-appropriate alternative to evening bonfires.

F

One of the most fundamental garden firework types: a conical or cylindrical tube pressed with a pyrotechnic composition that, when lit, projects a continuous jet of sparks upward into the air. Fountains were manufactured in a vast range of sizes, durations and effects — from the smallest novelty items a few inches tall to large display fountains producing plumes of sparks many feet high. The spark colour and character depended on the composition: iron or steel filings produced golden or silver sparks, titanium gave a brilliant white crackling effect, and various metal salts introduced colour. Fountains were a staple of every British firework manufacturer's range throughout the archive period and appear ubiquitously in advertisements, often illustrated with a graceful upward spray of gold.

G

A pyrotechnic term — from the French word for sheaf of wheat — for a tube that produces a tight, symmetrical spray of sparks resembling a sheaf or fan shape rather than the broad cone of a conventional fountain. Gerbes were used extensively in professional display work and set pieces, where their predictable, defined output made them ideal for illuminating frames or forming specific shapes. In the retail garden-firework trade they appeared under various names, though the technical term gerbe was known to enthusiasts. The characteristic dense, relatively narrow spray is achieved by careful nozzle design that constrains the output, giving the gerbe a more architectural quality than the freeform fountain.

A product name applied by several British manufacturers to fountains or similar devices producing a shower of slow-falling golden sparks that drift downward like rain after being projected upward. The golden effect is typically achieved using iron or steel-based compositions whose particles are large enough to remain incandescent for some seconds as they fall. Golden Rain was one of the most consistently advertised firework names throughout the twentieth century and appeared in retail lines from Brock's, Wells, Wessex and others. As a descriptive category it overlaps with the fountain and the cascade, but the emphasis in marketing was always on the gentle, lingering quality of the falling sparks rather than the initial upward jet.

H

A ground-spinning firework that emits a loud, fluctuating hum or buzz as it whirls rapidly across a hard surface, its erratic movement and multiple spark-emitting vents giving it a passing resemblance — in the imagination of a child — to a large spinning insect. The humming effect is produced by a whistle composition burning within the device as the body rotates; the pitch rises and falls with the speed of rotation. Humming Spider was one of the most evocative and frequently advertised firework names in mid-twentieth-century Britain, its atmospheric name making it a copywriter's favourite. It belongs to the same family as the Jumping Jack and the Roly Poly, all of which depend on uncontrolled surface movement for their appeal and their mild danger.

J

A small firework consisting of a series of crackers folded in a zigzag configuration so that each successive detonation propels the device in an unpredictable direction across the ground. The rapid succession of bangs combined with the wild, erratic jumps made the Jumping Jack one of the most exciting — and feared — of garden fireworks, particularly among children. Also known as the Jumping Cracker or, in older sources, the Devil Among the Tailors, the type has a long history in Britain and Europe. Jumping Jacks appeared in the very earliest British firework advertisements and remained a popular retail item well into the twentieth century, though concerns about safety — they were unpredictable by design — eventually contributed to their disappearance from the general retail market.

L

A small, slender tube of pyrotechnic composition mounted on a spike or wire, designed to burn for a fixed duration in a single vivid colour. Lances are the individual units from which set pieces and portraits are constructed: by arranging hundreds or thousands of lances on a frame in a pattern and connecting them with quick match, a display company can create a burning picture that illuminates section by section. Individual lances are typically a few inches long and produce a narrow, steady flame in red, green, blue, white, yellow or amber. The trade in lances was a significant part of the professional display industry's supply chain throughout the archive period, and British manufacturers produced them in large quantities. As standalone retail items they were less commonly sold, though small packets appeared in some catalogues.

A small firework whose name promised more mischief than its modest size might suggest — typically a miniature banger, cracker or combination device intended to startle rather than illuminate. Little Terror was a widely used product name in the mid-twentieth-century British retail market, appearing in advertisements for multiple manufacturers, and its appeal lay precisely in the contrast between its diminutive scale and its noise. The name belongs to a tradition of giving small, loud fireworks names that emphasised their antisocial potential: Demon, Imp, Nuisance and similar appellations were common marketing choices. Little Terror appeared regularly in Guy Fawkes Night newspaper and comic advertisements from the 1930s through to the 1970s.

M

A firework designed primarily to produce a single very loud report — a sharp, powerful bang — rather than a visual effect. The maroon is essentially a pyrotechnic thunderclap: a heavy-walled paper or card shell packed with a flash composition that detonates on ignition. In professional display use, maroons are fired aerially to provide the percussive punctuation that gives a show its drama; at ground level smaller versions were sold in the retail trade as bangers or salutes. Maritime distress signals using maroons were standard equipment on British lifeboats and vessels for much of the twentieth century, fired from a signal pistol to summon the coastguard. The distinctive boom of the maroon, whether in a professional display or heard from a neighbouring garden, is one of the defining sounds of the Guy Fawkes Night soundscape.

A ground-level firework that projects its entire contents — stars, serpents, crackers or a combination of effects — upward in a single burst when ignited, as opposed to the sustained output of a fountain or Roman candle. The mine is conceptually the inverse of an aerial shell: instead of travelling up before bursting, it bursts from the ground, sending a fan of effects into the air above it. British manufacturers produced mines in a range of sizes, from small garden items a few inches in diameter to large professional devices used in display work. In retail advertising the mine was often illustrated as a sudden, spectacular eruption of stars, and it was typically placed as a climactic item near the end of a garden display sequence.

A specific type of mine in which the projected contents are serpents — small tubes of composition that writhe and dart erratically through the air as they burn — rather than stars or crackers. When ignited, a Mine of Serpents launches dozens of hissing, twisting fire-tubes simultaneously upward, creating a chaotic, living-looking effect quite unlike the geometric star-burst of a conventional mine. The name was one of the most atmospheric and frequently encountered in British firework advertisements of the mid-twentieth century, its combination of the ominous (mine) and the reptilian (serpents) making it irresistible to copywriters and children alike. It appears in the catalogues of several major British manufacturers including Brock's and Wells.

P

A firework that ejects one or more small parachutes — typically of tissue paper or thin cloth, each carrying a burning star or flare — high into the air, where they drift slowly to earth under their canopies, prolonging the display and providing a graceful spectacle quite different from the instantaneous effects of shells and mines. Parachute fireworks were popular both as garden novelties and as elements in professional displays, and their slow descent made them particularly effective on still nights. Some versions incorporated signal flares for maritime and military use. In British retail advertising from the early twentieth century onwards, parachute fireworks were often depicted with cartoonish figures descending beneath the canopies, reinforcing the association with aviation and novelty.

A slow-burning, hand-held ignition torch producing a steady, intense flame used to light fireworks, quick match and fuses reliably and safely. The portfire — from the French porte-feu, meaning fire-carrier — consists of a paper tube packed with a slow-burning composition that ignites readily and resists wind. Before the introduction of safety matches and reliable igniters, portfires were the standard tool for firing both garden and professional fireworks. Their burning time varied from a few minutes to half an hour or more depending on size and composition. In display work, portfires remain in use today; in the retail garden-firework trade they were sold in small packets as accessories, and appeared in British manufacturer advertisements well into the twentieth century.

R

The oldest and most universally recognised aerial firework: a cylindrical tube of pyrotechnic composition attached to a long stabilising stick, which propels itself upward on ignition and bursts — or produces a tail of stars and colour — at the top of its trajectory. The rocket is the archetype of the firework in the British popular imagination and has been manufactured in Britain since at least the seventeenth century. British manufacturers competed vigorously on rocket performance throughout the archive period, advertising height, duration, and the quality of the burst; rockets were also among the most dangerous garden fireworks when poorly made or improperly used. The stabilising stick — traditionally of straight-grained wood — was a recognisable part of every retail rocket, and spent sticks falling on neighbouring gardens and roofs were a perennial source of complaint. Rockets appear in British firework advertisements from the earliest surviving examples through to the end of the blue touch paper era.

A tubular firework that fires a series of coloured stars — typically six, ten or more — sequentially into the air at intervals, each star ejected from the mouth of the tube on a small lifting charge before burning brightly as it rises. The Roman candle is one of the most versatile firework types in the British trade, produced in sizes from slim single-colour novelty items to large-bore, multi-break display candles. The name is ancient in the pyrotechnic tradition and appears in British trade literature from at least the eighteenth century. In the retail garden-firework era, Roman candles were a core product for every major manufacturer, easily illustrated in advertisements with a neat column of coloured stars ascending in a line, and forming the backbone of many a family bonfire-night display.

S

A small, loosely packed firework tube that, when ignited, does not fly straight but writhes and twists through the air in an irregular, snake-like path, hissing as it goes. The erratic movement results from the off-axis thrust produced by the burning composition and the flexibility of the casing, giving each serpent a unique and unpredictable trajectory. Serpents were sold both individually and packed into mines, shells and compound devices; a Mine of Serpents was one of the most popular named fireworks of the mid-twentieth century. As standalone items serpents have a very long history in European pyrotechnics — they appear in early modern firework manuals under names including water snakes — and remained a standard line in British retail catalogues throughout the archive period.

A firework display device in which lances, wheels, fountains or other pyrotechnic elements are arranged on a wooden or wire frame to create a burning picture, word, pattern or scene. Set pieces were the centrepiece of professional displays throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, presenting royal portraits, coats of arms, sailing ships, patriotic mottoes and topical subjects to audiences. Large professional set pieces might measure sixty feet or more across; smaller domestic versions were sold to householders for garden use, typically presenting simpler designs such as a windmill with turning wheels or a cascade waterfall. The construction and firing of set pieces was a skilled craft, and the major British display companies — Pain's, Brock's, Pains-Wessex — employed specialist set piece artists. Their gradual replacement by aerial pyrotechnics in professional displays from the mid-twentieth century onwards marked a significant shift in display aesthetics.

A hand-held wire coated with a slow-burning pyrotechnic composition that emits a shower of bright sparks when lit, without flame or explosion. The sparkler is the most widely used and longest-lived firework in the British tradition, familiar to virtually every person who grew up in twentieth-century Britain. Its composition — typically iron or steel powder in a binder with an oxidiser — produces sparks that are hot enough to cause burns but less alarming than conventional fireworks, making it the standard introduction to pyrotechnics for children. British manufacturers produced sparklers in enormous quantities throughout the archive period in lengths from six to twenty-four inches; they appeared in advertisements both as individual items and as key components of assorted firework boxes. The sparkler's safety record, while better than many fireworks, was complicated by the common practice of children holding several simultaneously.

T

A self-rotating aerial firework — the name French for whirlwind — that spins rapidly on its own axis as it ascends, producing a spiral trail of sparks or coloured fire. Unlike a rocket, which relies on a stick for directional stability, the tourbillon achieves its flight path through the gyroscopic effect of its own spin: angled vents in the casing direct jets of burning gas both upward and tangentially, simultaneously propelling and rotating the device. The tourbillon has been a recognised type in European pyrotechnics since at least the seventeenth century and appears in British manufacturer catalogues from the eighteenth century onwards. In retail advertising it was prized as one of the more technically impressive garden fireworks, its spiralling ascent distinguishing it clearly from conventional rockets and shells.

V

A large fountain or mine-type firework producing a sustained, violent eruption of sparks, fire and smoke designed to suggest the appearance of the famous Italian volcano in full eruption. The Vesuvius was typically one of the largest and most dramatic ground-based fireworks in a manufacturer's retail range, its generous charge producing a spectacular output of golden or white sparks accompanied by considerable noise. The name was used by several British manufacturers and appears in advertisements from the mid-nineteenth century through to the late twentieth. Display Vesuvius devices for professional use could be very large indeed; domestic versions were scaled to garden use but retained the impression of a miniature volcanic event, making them a popular climactic item with which to end a Guy Fawkes Night display.

W

A general term for any pin-mounted spinning firework, of which the Catherine Wheel is by far the most familiar example. In British trade usage, wheel could refer to a range of designs beyond the flat spiral of the classic Catherine Wheel, including multi-arm wheels with individual drivers on each spoke, vertical-axis wheels mounted on posts, and decorative wheels incorporating coloured-fire effects alongside sparks. Large decorative wheels were also incorporated into set pieces, where their movement provided animation. The wheel as a firework type has been part of European pyrotechnics since the Renaissance and retains a central place in British display and retail traditions. See also: Catherine Wheel.

A compound novelty firework whose outer casing represented a cauldron — typically a squat, pot-shaped container — from which a succession of eruptions, sparks, coloured fires and subsidiary effects emerged as though brewing a supernatural concoction. The Witches Cauldron was one of the most atmospheric of the mid-twentieth-century British product names, trading on associations with Halloween and Macbeth's three witches to give an otherwise conventional compound device an air of dark theatricality. It appears in advertisements for several British manufacturers alongside similarly evocative products such as Banshee, Barrel of Demons and Mine of Serpents. The name represents the marketing tradition — at its height in the 1950s and 1960s — of giving British garden fireworks colourful, often sinister names that appealed directly to children's imaginations.