By Isla Quinn
Pull. Bang. A hat falls out. Every part of that has its own date, and the sources do not quite agree on any of them.
Who started it
Wikipedia’s article on the cracker says Tom Smith of London is, by tradition, the inventor, in 1847. It says he developed crackers from his bon-bon sweets, which were sold in a twist of paper. History Revealed, a history magazine, agrees that Smith is traditionally credited, but adds that another London confectioner, Sparagnapane, founded his company in 1846 and may have sold crackers first. The magazine says Sparagnapane’s firm called itself the oldest maker of Christmas crackers in the United Kingdom. We cannot say which claim is right.
The sweet from Paris
Wikipedia’s separate article on Smith says he was born on 18 October 1823 in Newington, then in Surrey, and died on 13 March 1869. It says he visited Paris in 1846, saw the French bonbon, a sugared almond in tissue paper, and adapted it for London, where it sold well at Christmas. History Revealed puts it a year later: in 1847, it says, Smith introduced the bonbon to England. The magazine adds that he later enlarged the packaging, replaced the sweet with a gift and added the crack.
The motto
History Revealed says Smith added a “love motto” to boost sales and stay ahead of rivals, and that he was proud of the verse. The magazine says later crackers carried topical themes, among them votes for women, Charlie Chaplin and coronations. It records that by 1906 some mottoes were so poor that the Westminster Gazette said a badly written play was “not up to the standard of cracker poetry”. Wikipedia’s article on the cracker says the paper strip may hold a motto, joke, riddle or piece of trivia.
The snap
Wikipedia’s cracker article says a chemically treated card strip makes a mild bang by friction, like a cap gun, and that one of the chemicals used is silver fulminate. History Revealed says Smith added the crack in 1860, and that silver fulminate snaps had existed for decades, so he probably gave an existing novelty a new use.
The stories behind the bang differ. The cracker article says Smith was inspired by the crackle of a log he had just put on a fire. The Smith article calls that story a myth, and says the formula was reportedly bought from a former chemist at a fireworks maker. History Revealed calls the log-fire story a tradition and adds that some accounts say he spent two years perfecting the sound. We report all three and choose none.
The name
Wikipedia’s cracker article says it was first marketed as the “Cosaque”, and that “cracker” became the common name as rivals appeared. The Smith article says he first called it “Bangs of Expectation”, then “Cosaque”, the French for Cossack. History Revealed says both early companies, his and Sparagnapane’s, used “Cosaques”, reportedly because the crack resembled Cossack whips, and says it does not know when “cracker” took over.
The hat and the gift
Wikipedia’s cracker article says Tom Smith’s son Walter introduced the gifts, the paper hats and the varied designs that set the firm’s product apart from its rivals. The Smith article gives a fuller picture: Walter was one of three sons who ran the company after Tom’s death, he originated the modern cracker by adding gifts and hats, and he sourced gifts from Europe, America and Japan. It says that by the 1890s the firm employed about 2,000 people and moved to larger premises in Finsbury Square. History Revealed says Walter later introduced the paper hat.
One very large cracker
Wikipedia’s cracker article records the largest cracker as 63.1 m long and 4 m in diameter, made by parents at Ley Hill School in Chesham on 20 December 2001.
Dates in order
- 1846: Smith visits Paris and sees the bonbon, according to Wikipedia’s Smith article. Sparagnapane’s firm is also founded this year, according to History Revealed.
- 1847: Smith’s cracker, traditionally, according to Wikipedia and History Revealed.
- Around 1849: the sweet replaced by trinkets, according to Wikipedia’s Smith article.
- 1860: the snap added, according to History Revealed and Wikipedia’s Smith article.
- 1869: Smith dies, according to Wikipedia.
- 1890s: about 2,000 staff and a move to Finsbury Square, according to Wikipedia’s Smith article.
- 1906: the Westminster Gazette remark about cracker poetry, according to History Revealed.
- 2001: the record cracker, according to Wikipedia.
Side by side
The year is 1847 in all three sources, but the Paris visit is 1846 in one and 1847 in another. The inventor is Smith by tradition, with one rival claim to have sold crackers first. The log-fire story is accepted, called a myth, and called a tradition. Our reading: a Christmas custom with a single named inventor attracts neat stories, and the neat ones are the hardest to check. That is our inference, and none of the sources says it.
What kind of sources these are
Two Wikipedia articles, which anyone can edit, and a history magazine’s article. We read no museum page and no maker’s own account. We give no figures for sales or production, and no prices.
Questions a buyer would ask
What is inside, and who chose it? Does the snap work by friction, as the cracker article describes? Is the hat paper? Is the motto original or printed in bulk? Who made the cracker, and where? We name no maker and no brand, and say nothing about quality.
What we left out
We left out Smith’s family details, his census entry and the memorial fountain, since they are biographical and not about the cracker. We left out the 1953 merger, because it is uncited in the article. We left out any royal link, since none of the three sources mentions one.
Roam first. Shop later.