Saturday, November 21, 2015

Moroccan Candle Labels


I've written before about my odd affection for banana stickers, those little branding devices that are often stuck on supermarket bananas.

In a similar vein, when I lived in Morocco in the early '90s, I became infatuated with the labels from packages of candles. You could buy candles -- eight simple white tapers wrapped in paper -- in any town market. But the brands varied by region, so whenever I traveled I'd pick up the local lights and I soon developed a little collection.


I came across them again recently while working on my journal transcribing project. (Which, by the way, is going to take me years.)

There's a definite "big cat" theme going on with these first two. In fact, I'd say someone was ripping someone else off.


Many of the labels seemed to have a religious theme, depicting a mosque. Maybe they were often used in mosques. (I never went inside a mosque in Morocco -- in that country, you must be a muslim to enter. It's actually a law.)


In the town where I lived my first year, the mosque (and our house) had electricity. But in my second year I moved to a nearby village where candles were my only light -- and perhaps the only light in the mosque, too.


Falconry, anyone?





I think they're a fun little look at Moroccan graphic design. I wonder if these brands even exist anymore, or what's replaced them. It's been so long since I've been to Morocco. I really need to go back. Dave and I keep talking about it but something else always comes up first.

Speaking of which -- Lisbon, in just five days!

5 comments:

  1. An interesting set of designs. I can't believe you lived somewhere without electricity.

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  2. How fascinating. A wonderful collection. I think they might be framable art, which would be on way to not lose sight of them again. You have such great memories of Morocco.

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  3. So how have you stored them all these years? I'm always interested in how people keep or display their collections. (I like 37p's idea about framing as well.)

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  4. A fascinating collection Steve. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. I suspected a tiger theme and then a big cat theme but it's a candle (bougies)theme.

    I didn't live in Morocco but I did live in a place and time without electricity too.

    It wasn't the end of the world.

    Ms Soup

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