Collecting and Researching 'Matches' and their Packaging

By invite, from Sam and Graham Johnson, I will introduce myself to you, as a

collector of almost any item connected to 'matches'. I am a member, and the Editor of the magazine of the non-profit making British Matchbox Label and Bookmatch Society, which was founded in 1945, and includes both UK and overseas members. My collection started on the 7th April 1966, and I have had a passion for the hobby ever since. This is a hobby that could be compared to stamp collecting but with the addition that it has endless scope for research. Accurate information and the documentation about matches, matchboxes and all related packaging, is still an area that has much to be explored.

'Fire' and its control has had a major influence on the development of the industrial world that we live in. Which cannot be underestimated.

Before the 'friction match' obtaining fire was a difficult task. In Britain as with many other countries fire was domestically most commonly acquired by the 'Flint & Steel' method. Although this was a cheap means of obtaining fire, it was often slow and laborious. Especially in cold and damp climates. It was helped by the aid of a splint coated with sulphur. But this was an aid to the transfer of fire only, needing another method to obtain it. Although, there were other forms of obtaining fire in the early 1800s by mechanical and chemical means they were much more expensive and more dangerous.

The breakthrough came in the mid-1820s, and it is widely accredited to John Walker a chemist and druggist of Stockton-on-Tees, England. For it was he who we know by written evidence, still in existence, the first recorded sale of 'friction matches' was on the 7th April 1827. It is almost certain that he had invented his formula for a match that was ignitable by friction in the previous year, that of 1826. Others have claimed its invention but no written contemporary or creditable proof has ever been provided. Although it is fair to acknowledge that others were involved in finding a more convenient similar means of obtaining fire at this time, in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, and some had had some success in this endeavour.  

Walker had no interest in developing his match commercially and it was in other hands that his formulated friction matches were made and sold to the public. There were a number of names involved, such as Jones and Watt, who called them Lucifers, both chemists in London. But, manufacture of matches soon spread around the country and beyond. Matches developed, the match formula improved, and special purpose matches, to resist water and wind such as Fusees and Vesuvians entered the market. Match factories, often little more than back street establishments initially were established in London, Norwich, Manchester, Liverpool, Gloucester, Bristol and other larger cities and towns. The successful ones expanded and by the 1860s onwards large factories were built for the manufacturing of matches.

I do not want to go into depth about the chemical nature of matches but it was soon clear that common (white) phosphorous was a dangerous ingredient, which led to terrible health issues, such as phossy jaw. Many countries had acted to ban or restrict its use, well before the British Government.

Bryant & May emerged to become the dominant manufacturer of matches in Britain. First importing matches from Sweden in the 1850s. Demand was so great that they built a match factory in the East End of London, which became known as the Fairfield Works, at Bow, which opened in 1861. Their 'Patent Safety Matches' with labels on the boxes, that included the 'Ark' trade mark, became very successful. Their success led to them opening other match factories, and absorbing many of their competitors, their buildings, and the brands that these companies had established. Brand names such as Tiger, Chump, Ruby, Alpine, Cleopatra’s Needle, Pearl, Primrose, Sultan, Crown Matches, The Runaway Match, Victoria Matches, and many others would have been familiar with the 'Matchgirls', who led a successful strike in 1888 to obtain better pay and conditions at the Bryant & May factory in Bow. The Bow factory closed in 1979, when it still employed 275 people. But, in its heyday employed more than 3,000.

Today, no matches are made in Britain, and they are rarely used.

Their decline in use around the globe has seen the end of match manufacture in most countries, largely since the introduction of cheaper lighters as a means of obtaining a 'light', and electronic methods to ignite gas appliances since the 1980s. The ban on smoking in public places has further reduced the demand for matches. Swedish Match, with factories in Sweden and Brazil is the world leader and largest manufacturer of matches today. Other countries have factories still operating, such as those in India, Bangladesh, China, and Russia.

The images in this articles show some of the Bryant & May matchboxes in my collection. Dating them is often difficult, as many brands were popular over many years and small variations in their design make dating them quite a challenge.