Collecting matchbook covers portable#

Other categories which may interest you include railroad advertising, general transportation, restaurant advertising, and bank advertising. One popular category of collectible matchbook covers is hotels. The hardest part about being a matchbook cover collector, also known as a phillumenist, is deciding which matchbook covers to collect.

In fact, they are also called billboards. The 40-strike covers often have some of the most elaborate designs due to their larger sizes. The 10-strike matchbook covers are among the rarest. The others are 10, 30, and 40-strike matchbook covers.

The most common is the 20-strike variety, which holds 20 matches.

They are named after the number of matches they each hold. If you want to start collecting matchbook covers then you should know that there are four sizes. They featured images of sports stars, showgirls, famous buildings, animals, and more, based on the company for which they were advertising. That is why many of those matchbook covers are highly sought after today. Those changes led to increasingly more elaborate and artistic designs on matchbook covers. Many business owners realized that people would see their matchbooks multiple times a day and used stylish logos, patterns, and images to capture the attention of the matchbook user. However, the period of time from approximately 1920 to 1940 saw some major changes in industries, as well as in social activities. Although, some early matchbook covers did have artwork as well. The earliest matchbook covers often had written advertisements such as hotel names on them. That is primarily due to the foreign writing being impossible for most people to read, which reduces the display value of the matchbook cover in question. However, foreign designs are not as valued in the United States. Large companies which jumped on the matchbook cover advertising bandwagon included the Wrigley’s Chewing Gum Company and the Pabst Brewing Company.Įventually, matchbook covers with advertising on them began popping up in other countries. The opera company used Binghamton Match Company matchbooks for their advertisements. The Mendelson Opera Company was one of the earliest businesses to advertise on matchbook covers. This idea caught the attention of the Diamond Match Company, and they purchased the matchbook patent for $4,000 in 1896. Pusey’s design has remained more or less the same to this day, but one major change took place two years after his patent date when businesses began using matchbook covers as advertising space.

Collecting matchbook covers portable#

He designed his matchbooks to be portable and called them “flexibles.” The matchbook cover kept the matches contained until needed, and also had a striking surface used to light each match. Matchbooks with covers were first patented by Joshua Pusey of Lima, PA in September, 1892. Let’s take a peek at how they have impacted our culture and why many of them are still collectible today. They are often sought after for their beautiful artwork or their unique origins. Matchbook covers have a history that dates back to the late 1800s. This month it is time to examine one such package, the matchbook cover, also known as a matchcover. In fact, some of them are actually tiny packages. However, some of the best collectibles come in the tiniest packages. In the world of collectibles, some people think that bigger is better.