Editing Firecracker (section)

===Sales, packaging and branding ===
[[File:Firecracker roll.jpeg|right|thumb|A firecracker roll containing 10,000 firecrackers.]]

Early (pre-1920s) Chinese firecrackers (also known as "Mandarin firecrackers") were typically {{convert|1/2|to|2|in}} long, and approximately {{convert|1/4|in}} in diameter, and were charged with [[black powder]]. Mandarin crackers produced a less loud, duller thud compared to modern flash-light crackers (which utilize a different explosive known as [[flash powder]]). Mandarin crackers produced a dimmer, less brilliant flash when they exploded also. Individual Mandarin crackers were most often braided into "strings" of varying lengths, which, when ignited, exploded in rapid sequence.  Generally, the strings (sometimes containing as many as several thousand crackers) would be hung from an overhead line before ignition. Most Mandarin crackers were colored all red and did not generally have designs or logos decorating their exterior surface (or "shell wraps").  Occasionally a few yellow and green colored Mandarin crackers were created and would be braided into the predominantly all-red strings to symbolize the emperor and the ruling class, while the numerous red crackers symbolized the common man.

Once flash powder, which produces a significantly sharper and brighter bang, replaced black powder as a firecracker's explosive charge (circa 1924), manufacturers began competing to gain loyalty of typical consumers (that is, mainly boys 8 to 16 years old). Thousands of brands were created during the flash-light cracker's heyday from the 1920s through the early 1970s. Only a small percentage of brands lasted more than a year or two. Collectors now seek the various labels from the era.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crackerpacks.com/collecting.html|title=A Guide To Collecting Chinese Firecrackers|website=www.crackerpacks.com}}</ref>

Until the mid-1980s, firecracker production was low-tech. They were handmade, beginning with rolling tubes. Once the firecracker tubes were rolled by hand (commonly from newspaper) and labelled, and then filled with powder, their ends were crimped and fuses inserted, all by hand. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Doughboy C-1 30s String.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A braided "string" of 30 Doughboy brand flash-light crackers from the class-1 era (i.e., pre-1950); this particular string was made in the early 1940s. Once a string is completed, it is wrapped, usually in colourful glassine paper, and a brand label is attached.]]  -->These finished firecrackers were usually braided into "strings" and sold in packs which came in many sizes, from the very small ("penny packs" containing as few as four to six firecrackers) to the most common size packs (containing 16 and 20 crackers per pack), to larger packs (containing 24, 30, 32, 40, 50, 60, 72, 90, 100, and 120 firecrackers), to huge "belts" and "rolls" (packages containing strings of several hundred to several thousand crackers—Phantom Fireworks sells rolls as large as 16,000 firecrackers<ref>[http://fireworks.com/fireworks_gallery/photo.asp?pid=676 Phantom Fireworks catalog page for 16,000 roll] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215203137/http://fireworks.com/fireworks_gallery/photo.asp?pid=676 |date=2010-12-15}} Retrieved 2010-12-31</ref>). Firecracker packages were wrapped in colourful and translucent [[glassine]] paper, as well as clear cellophane, with glassine the most popular.

The final operation involved applying a branded label on each pack, then bundling finished packs into wholesale lots called "bricks" which contained an average of 80 packs each (varying according to the size of the packs being bundled; for example, packs of 32 crackers might have 40 packs per brick, compared to packs of 16 or 20 with 80 packs per brick).