Collecting Match Safes and Match Books

By Maureen Timm
   In 1680 an Irishman named Robert Boyle discovered that if you rubbed phosphorus and sulphur together they would instantly burst into flames. He discovered the principle that was the precursor of the modern match.
   The next discovery was by an Englishman. In 1827 a pharmacist called John Walker produced “Sulphuretted Peroxide Strikeables,” which were a yard long and then developments followed reasonably quickly. John Walker’s invention was copied by Samuel Jones of the Strand, and it was Jones who first sold it is a “Lucifer.”    There was a rather dangerous match invented in 1828 called a Promethean. It had a small glass bulb with sulphuric acid and the bulb was coated with potassium chlorate, sugar and gum, wrapped in a paper spill. One would break the glass bulb with his teeth to “strike” this match.
   In 1832 small phosphorus matches were manufactured in Germany and they were extremely hazardous. They could ignite with a series of explosions that scattered dangerous bits of fire over the carpet. They would also explode when trodden upon which increased the danger of having them around.
   In 1836 a patent was registered in the United States by Alonzo D. Phillips for the manufacturing of friction matches called “Loco Focos.” A Loco-Foco (supposed to mean “self-lighting)” was originally a self-igniting cigar patented in New York in 1834 (and probably the original exploding cigar).
   It then became applied to the Lucifer match. It was later applied to a political party, the Democrats, after an incident at a party meeting in 1835 at which opponents of the radical element within the party turned out the gas lights, but the radicals promptly produced candles which they lit with Loco-Focos. Protection was needed and the containers known as match safes were invented.
   In the 19th and early 20th centuries, craftsmen created lidded safes and open holders made from painted tin to platinum and gold. The most valuable of the pocket match safes are those created of precious metals and stones and signed by the foremost jewelers of the mid-19th and early 20th century. Tiffany & Co., Unger Brothers and Gorham Manufacturing Co. in the United States; Sampson Morden in London and Peter Carl Faberge of Imperial Russia. These early Faberge examples were selling for as much as $10,000 each in the late 1970s.
   Some match safes were celluloid covered advertisements and others were souvenirs such as the glass Liberty Bell that was sold to tourists visiting the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
   Some match safes were made in the form of pigs, cockroaches, the man in the moon and even tombstones.    Among the scarcest match cases are silver pocket safes with enameled pictures, most of which depict pretty girls or mythological scenes such as St. George slaying the dragon and safes that have lids that flip up like those on modern cigarette lighters.
   Larger safes and holders were made to hang on a wall or to rest on a table. Most of the ones that have survived are made of cast iron or painted tin. Those made of papier-mâché, glass or ceramic are rare and desirable.
   The most sought after table safes are the mechanicals, designed to dispense just one match to a customer in hotels and cigar stores. These safes have moving parts that extract a single match from the container.    Some people use match safes for cigarettes and others use them as miniature wall-hung planters. Collectors may find other uses for the endless variety of cast iron, glass, china, and brass-match safes.
   The small and compact match safes can be found at flea markets and garage sales or in old trunks in the attic. Wall safes are often sold with old kitchen equipment.
Match Books
   The earliest known commercial match book advertising was in 1895 and was distributed by the Mendelssohn Opera Company. The advertisement from the one surviving example advertising pursuit was “A cyclone of fun – powerful cast – pretty girls – handsome wardrobes – get seats early.” On the front was a photo of the star of this comic organization by the name of Thomas Lowden, who was a trombonist. The opera purchased several boxes of blank match books (estimate of 100) from the Diamond Match Company and the cast members would sit up late at night while pasting photos and writing clever slogans and phrases on matchbooks. It was all done by hand. Each different cast member would design their own types of match books to advertise with.
   In Barberton, Ohio, the first Diamond Matchbook Company factory was built. In 1895 the matchbooks production figure clearly exceeded 150,000 match books a day. The Diamond Match Book Company’s objective was to produce a quality match book which would be sold to the public. Diamond soon turned the match book division over to a highly motivated young salesman named Henry C. Traute. Traute’s marketing genius and interest in the industry propelled him to the top of his trade. Traute began to target big business and started with the Pabst Brewery which ordered 10 million match books. His biggest order came when he ventured into Wrigley’s chewing gum who placed an order of 1 billion match books.
   Throughout the 1920s, match books quickly earned money for every industry and became the most popular form of advertising in America. Case after case, stories kept pouring in about how match books helped even the smallest stores to advertise their business. At that time a professionally printed case of 2500 match books would cost just under $5.00. In October 1929, when advertising budgets began to dwindle down, the match book manufacturer’s began to feel their business hurt with the decline of sales they were receiving. In 1932 Diamond Match Books decided to produce the first movie star set of match books for the American market. These matchbooks quickly began to sell at all local Five ‘n Dimes as collectible sets. Once again Diamond pulled out of a hole. Diamond went on to also manufacture collectible sets with not only movie stars, but professional sport teams and athletes.
   With new life back into the match industry and the need of popular patriotic and military advertising, the Office of Price Administration insisted that a free book of matches accompany every pack of cigarettes. Free match books became an instant mainstay.
   Some match book collectors accept only the books without matches, but most collectors want complete books and will reject a book from which one match is missing if there is a full package obtainable.
   One of the variants of match book collecting is the “feature match” in which the stems are in figural form, diecut into rows of chefs, bottles, bananas, hot dogs and thousands of other themes.
   Collectors value matchbook covers of unusual shape, size or design; examples include the Jewelite which is shaped like an hourglass, and thin matchbooks that held only 10 or 12 matches instead of the standard 20. A number of collectors try to acquire the matchbooks that are provided by hotels or motels.
   “VIP” covers which show or mention famous people, are desirable, along with “politicals” which portray candidates. Collectors also try to acquire complete sets—for example, a series of 60 covers portraying ice-hockey players that was issued in the 1930s.
   One collector of record has over twenty-five thousand packs of old wooden matches in original containers, still encased within the original wholesale package wrappings of 144 packages. There are wooden matches, wax stick matches, slivers, curls, flats, blocks, all dating from before 1870. These are considered antique matches. There were no strike-any-where or “Lucifer” matches of American make before 1835.
   Many collectors started with 19th century match books and are now collecting 18th century antiques.    Current day match book advertising is just as popular as it was back when it first began. A case of match books can run about $80 which is less than 2 cents per match book. You can see match books in almost every restaurant, hotel, candle shop, pool hall, gas stations and smoke shops all over the United States. Match books will continue to thrive in the advertising industry as one of the cheapest and most effective advertisements used.

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