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Fireworks! There are few market niches that are hot from top to bottom, no matter which title one chooses, but certainly books about fireworks, or pyrotechnics, come close to this ideal. If books are available for a dollar or so, the Bookologist recommends purchasing anything related to fireworks, pyrotechnics or explosives, even if it's a farmer's guide to blowing up stumps. Virtually all vintage or antiquarian titles do extremely well, and even newer titles, with a few exceptions, bring strong prices. Also, the related field of firecracker labels is unusually active, and books pertaining to collecting them will often do well.
The best bibliography on this subject is Chris Philip's "A Bibliography of Firework Books: Works on Recreative Fireworks from the Sixteenth to the Twentieth century." Not cheap, nor easy to find, but indispensable for the dealer who specializes.
A few strong pyrotechnic titles to look for include:
"Handbook of Pyrotechnics," by Karl O. Brauer
"A History of Fireworks," by Alan St. H. Brock (alternately titled "Pyrotechnics: the History and Art of Firework Making")
"The Art of Pyrotechny," by William Henry Browne
"The Pyrotechnist's Treasury"; or, "Complete Art of Making Fireworks," by Thomas Kentish
"Dictionary of Pyrotechnics," by George W. Weingart
"Pyrotechnics," by George W. Weingart
Helpful keywords for online searches: pyrotechnics, pyrotechny, fireworks, firecrackers, explosives, dynamite
Several helpful links:
- AMERICAN FIREWORKS NEWS
http://www.fireworksnews.com/manualsnewformat.html
- List of fireworks books in print
http://www.skylighter.com/mall/books.asp
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