Sometimes there are unusual sources of inspiration in art. Small objects that catch the eye of graphic designers and illustrators, or become the surface on which to experiment with creative ideas. Matchboxes can be one of these objects, so much so that it becomes a collector’s item or is gathered in a book, highlighting an unsuspected graphic history.
Matchblock is the book, updated by Jane McDevitt of Maraid Design and realized in collaboration with Neal Whittington of Present & Correct, that collects 400 illustration found on matchboxes from the 1950s to the 1980s. The selection includes graphic from Eastern Bloc countries such as Russia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and Germany.
The illustrations perfectly frame the art of that precise moment and historical place, with colors and shapes from party posters and themes current in those decades, especially in Russia, such as the race to conquer space or industrial growth.

Below you can take a look at some of the boxes included in the book.