From the June 28, 1906 edition of The Chatham Record (emphasis mine):
Firecracker Fan
One of the clever novelties designed to delight youngsters upon the Fourth of July, as well as before and after, is the firecracker fan.
At first glance it looks like a nice red giant firecracker, but you make the mistake of your life if you touch lighted punk or any sort of fire to the realistic string which dangles from the end.
Instead it is etiquette to pull the string. Just pull it steadily and out comes a full-fledged fan, the round, pleated sort, a near relative of the old-fashioned pistol fan. The fan part is of the daintiest blue patterned around the edge with tiny pink posies. This, together with the gorgeous red of the firecracker handle, goes to make a fan of the gayest attractiveness. It is not stretching matters to say it looks altogether Celestial, meaning that it smacks of the Celestial Kingdom.
The mistake of your life? Wow.
“Oh sure, I regret embezzling that money, going to prison and ruining my family. But if I could relive one day, I’d go back and save that novelty fan I ruined.”
