A bottle of matches. It’s a transparently good idea. Perfect for lighting candles, barbecues, campfires or anything else that requires a spark, a jar of matches come beautifully packaged. They also make an unusual and fun present! What message will you send ?
As you know, at Abrahams Store we’re all about colour and these boxes are packed with colour. They’re also filled with 125 of the famous ‘flaming redheads’ that you might find in a cryptic crossword. Approximately 4″ long they’re perfect for lighting fires.
What’s in a name ?
I became intereseted in phillumeny, collecting matchbox labels in the mid-1970s. Bryant & May issued a centenary box of Captain Webb Matches. I learend that Captain Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel in 1875 and that struck me. I then learned how to ask for matches in French, German snd Italian as family holidays dictated. My favourites are from Innsbruck and have images of the town on them, in gold, on pastel sades of satin. When I find my collection, I’ll add a photo to this page.
Generally, matches for sale in the UK these days are made abroad but in the past we had many factories. I’ve mentioned Bryant and May above and wondered why so many different brands for basically the same product; England’s Glory, Puck, Swan Vestas, Captain Webb etc. The match industry featured a dizzying turnover of mergers and demengers which led to the British Match Corporation in the mid 20th Century. The answer is that although under on business roof, seperate brands were retained. It’s also worth noting a few things about matches; Phossy Jaw and The Matchgirls strike of 1888, (no pun intended.)
If you need shorter matches than these, 11cm, we’ve got them too – follow this link
