United States

Dejima, or Deshima, was a small fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki, Japan. During the Edo period (1615-1868), Dejima was the only place in which foreign traders were allowed to conduct business with Japan. It was originally built for Portuguese traders but was later used by the Dutch East India Company. In 1858, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States, Dejima’s role as the only port of entry for the West was over. The island was expanded by reclaiming land, and it was merged into Nagasaki, thus obscuring the island’s original borders.

The author, Alan Brock, dedicated this book to his brother, Frank Arthur Brock, who was killed in World War I. The brothers were from a famous family of fireworks makers; the family staged the celebrated Crystal Palace fireworks shows and used their factory to help provide special government war requirements during WWI. This book contains numerous illustrations of types of fireworks, firework displays, and the construction of fireworks. Several of the illustrations are colored, and there are many black and white photographs of significant fireworks displays over time.