Stylish buildings, trendy logos, sexy figures, exotic cultures, modern forms, flamboyant fonts and more — explore Yeo Hong Eng’s “lit” collection of vintage advertising that fits on a palm!

With its rectangular and pocket-friendly form, matchboxes plastered with advertisements once offered an affordable and portable means of marketing. This collection of over 350 covers from Singapore—each reproduced true to size—captures the city-state’s colourful modernisation during the 1970s to 1990s. An accompanying essay on the history of matchbox production in Singapore along with seven curated themes reveals the many meanings and cultures emblazoned on each design.

Co-published by In Plain Words and Temporary Press for the Singapore Graphic Archives
Essays by Justin Zhuang and Gideon Kong
Collection by Yeo Hong Eng
Designed by gideon-jamie

110 x 75 x 25 mm
400pp, 171g
Perfect bind
Soft cover
Published in April 2022
ISBN 978-981-18-4398-3