Subjects for Cracker themes were amazing and covered such things as the Channel Tunnel, Radio, Aviation, Votes for Women, Suffragettes, the Postal Service, Cycling, Scouting and the Paris Exhibition. These and many, many more were frequently offered.
Come the First World War and Smith's were in the thick of it so to speak, producing many boxes with a militaristic or patriotic flavour, several of which denigrated the hated "Hun".
The British Empire too got its fair share of support with designs which reflected feelings of national pride and colonial involvement.
On the darker side, if you'll excuse the pun, the first third of the twentieth century saw the Tom Smith company and others producing a number of what I call "racial" designs which, following the pattern of the times and long standing colonial connections, often depicted coloured folk in some servile or simplistic situation which to me, in general terms suggested the inferiority of non- whites.
Tom Smith's had many competitors over the years – notably London manufacturer Hovells. Indeed, some even credit James Hovell with being the actual inventor of the Cracker. But research by Germany's Dr.Christa Pieske also refers to a mysterious Italian (whose name may well have been a Mr G Sparagnapane) who was supposed to have been producing large quantities of Crackers in the London of the early 1850's as noted by the journalist Henry Mayhew in the Morning Chronical newspaper at that time. But none of this to date has been or probably ever will be totally proved but I am still pursuing this line of investigation.
Moving on to the Second World War, cracker production was banned by the government of the day who, in their wisdom and probably to save money, implemented some very basic "Dad's Armyish" troop training methods using the exploding part of the Cracker - the snaps, to imitate gun fire! Further on still, we see various mergers and takeovers with Smiths themselves quitting their Wilson Street base in London in 1953 to move to Norwich in a joining with the famous Caley company. Caley's themselves, ever a Norwich company, had their roots in the production of mineral water, followed by confectionery and in turn, Crackers at the tail end of the 1890's onwards. Whilst they were perhaps a little less illustrious than Smith's, they were certainly no mean exponents in the art of Cracker making.
It may also come as a surprise to some to know that the great English artist A.J. Munnings (Sir Alfred) started his working life by way of an apprenticeship at the Norwich printers of Page Brothers, who were suppliers to Caley's and where the talents of the young Munnings were often called upon to produce wonderful Cracker box designs for them. Today, in the archives of the Norwich Museum, one can view a number of his designs (proofs I think) on which in his own hand can be seen written such critical comments as "Not my colours" and "Not my layout" etc.
In 1963, Tom Smith's were the victim of yet another great fire at their Salhouse Road factory just as they had done in the 1930's and in the 1941 Blitz in London. As I point out in my book, Cracker factories, invariably full of highly combustible materials of every description, are arguably disasters waiting to happen! Happily, despite the seriousness of the fire, the company was up and running again in just about a year to the point in the mid 1980's where they were employing a combined total of some 500 people in their Norwich and Stockport factories and producing in the region of 50,000,000 Crackers per year. The late 1980's saw a management buyout of the company but unhappily the storm clouds were gathering. High borrowing costs to finance the production of a product which, when made in January, often had to be stored until the autumn and the approaching Christmas season, coupled with sadly unimaginative management meant that the company as an independent entity finally bowed its head in the late 1990's.What was left of this once great company was acquired in 1998 by Napier Industries of Rickmansworth, England, who themselves, after yet another management buyout went out of business in 2005. Today, there sadly is no original Smith family connection with the present Tom Smith name but the brand (name) is now owned by the International Greetings Group and the modern version of Tom Smith's great Victorian invention continues to be produced by one of their subsidiaries by the name of Brite Sparks based in Wales who continue to use the Tom Smith branding on their current Cracker boxes.
And so there is little left today to reflect the real glory days of the Cracker and like so many enterprising folk of the last 150 years, Tom Smith the man has passed into history and is largely forgotten by the great majority. But all is not lost. For those of you who live in or regularly visit London, there is just one remaining link with the Smith family. Should you have the time, take a few minutes to visit Finsbury Square, where in one corner you will find a highly decorative but sadly inoperative drinking fountain which was erected to the memory of Tom's wife Martha by his sons Walter and Thomas. It's worth a visit if only to remind us of the remarkable Mr Smith and his enduring product.
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