There is a Matchgirls exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall in Parliament from 21st July for a week to celebrate anniversary of the 1888 victory on 17th July.
This exhibition was arranged by Uma Kumaran, Labour MP for Stratford and Bow, who also secured an Adjournment Debate on Wednesday 16th July.
For more information about the Matchgirls’ strike see the Matchgirls Memorial web site.
Our fifth annual On-line Exhibition will take place in October this year, and we are now inviting members to submit Exhibits. The closing date for receipt is 1st September. More details can be found here.
We are proud to announce that the Society has recently secured a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for £14,760 to fully fund the making of a short film about John Walker and the impact of his invention on the world. This project is made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, allowing us to engage with Lonely Tower Film and Media from Durham to make the film with us. Our film will act as a lasting legacy of John Walker, beyond 2026, and it will be premiered on 29th May 2026 during the Birthday Weekend celebrations in Stockton on Tees.
Our editor has written a special article entitled “Collecting and researching matches and their packaging” which has been published on the blog page of the web site of “The Matchgirls Memorial” https://www.matchgirls1888.org/post/collecting-and-researching-matches-and-their-packaging
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held at the Northwich show on 7th September 2024, which had been called to vote on two proposed changes to the Society’s Governance Rules. The details of these proposals, and notice of the EGM, was published in the August magazine. The two Rules affected are Rule 19 and Rule 25.
We are pleased to say that the two proposed changes were unanimously approved by the meeting and will take effect from 1st October 2024.
The progressive-rock band Gil Galad have recently announced the release of a new studio album “A Record of the Unworldly and the Strange – An Ingenious Man …”.
The work was inspired by John Walker, the entrepreneur and chemist from Stockton on Tees who is credited with the invention of the friction match.
The limited edition CD launch version comes in beautifully presented packaging featuring original artwork with lyric booklet, and the album weaves a wonderful story of truth, myth and legend.
More details can be found here on their web site and you can download the album here on their Bandcamp page.
Our friends in Belgium have organised another collectors’ meeting, on 1st June in Bolderberg. Contact Danny Robben for details : danny.robben@pxl.be
The Society makes two Awards each year, and the Award Winners for 2025 were announced at the recent AGM.
The Society makes two Awards each year, and the Award Winners for 2024 were announced at the recent AGM.
Thanks to Tom O’Key the Society has now joined Facebook.
Tom has set up for us two Facebook Groups’ :
Facebook Groups are designed for people to connect with each other around a common interest or topic. They are a place where people can have discussions, ask questions, and share information, including pictures and videos, and ideas.
To participate in these Facebook Groups you would have to be registered with Facebook. Both these groups are registered as private with only members of the group being able to see who is in the group and what they post, although, the group itself is visible to anyone so that they can find this group. Anyone seeking to join either group will be required to abide by the Group rules.
To find either Group log into your Facebook account and use the Facebook search (top left of any page on Facebook) by typing the Group title, and choose what you are looking for from the results:
The new AMCCS website was launched last week and can be found at https://amccs.org.au
This follows a lengthy update and refresh, and the web site is now much improved.
Our friends in the Bangaldesh Matchbox Collectors Club have opened their fourth International On-line Exhibition which runs until 15th January 2024. All details can be found here on their web site
Our friends in the Bangaldesh Matchbox Collectors Club have announced their fourth International On-line Exhibition which will take place in January 2024. All details can be found on their web site
We are pleased to announce the Award Winners in our 2023 On-Line Exhibition :
You can see these Exhibits in our Permanent Gallery
We are pleased to announce the Award Winners in our 2024 On-Line Exhibition :
You can see these Exhibits in our Permanent Gallery
Our 2023 On-line Phillumeny Exhibition ran from 1st to 31st October 2023 and was a great success as you can tell from reading our Visitor Book.
We will be holding our fourth On-line Exhibition in October 2024, details will be published in our June magazine and here on our web site.
If you have any questions about the Exhibition then please contact us at onlineexhibition@phillumeny.com
Our fourth On-line Phillumeny Exhibition ran from 1st to 31st October 2024 and was a great success as you can tell from reading our Visitor Book.
We will be holding our fourth On-line Exhibition in October 2025 details will be published in our June 2025 magazine and here on our web site.
If you have any questions about the Exhibition then please contact us at onlineexhibition@phillumeny.com
Our 2024 On-line Phillumeny Exhibition opens on 1st October, and entry to the exhibition is now closed.
We are busy finalising the preparations for this year’s show, and look forward to welcoming visitors to our fourth exciting exhibition.
If you have any questions about the Exhibition then please contact us at onlineexhibition@phillumeny.com
Following feedback from members who sell items in our Society Actions we have changed the Auction Rules in respect of Reserves on Lots that do not sell. Previously the seller would be charged a 15% commission with no upper limit. Now the same commission applies but there is a fixed upper limit of £10. We hope this will encourage sellers to enter more high-value Lots in our Society Auctions.
The Rules affected are : Meeting Action Rules 9.4 and 11.1, Postal Auction Rule 9.3 and On-line Auction Rules 9.3 and 11.1
Exactly 200 years today Johan Wolfgang Döbereiner invented the first lighter, also known as Döbereiner’s Lamp.
The two Society Awards for 2023 were announced at the recent AGM, and details of the winners can be found on our AWARDS page.
Postage costs have risen with effect from 2nd October 2023. The new booklet, RMOP48 Our Prices, provides details.
Please note that we will charge the higher prices from that date, superseding RMOP46 prices.
Our friends in the Portuguese Phillumeny Society (Associação Portuguesa de Filumenismo) have extended their second on-line Phillumeny Exhibition until 31st July 2023.
Our friends in the Portuguese Phillumeny Society (Associação Portuguesa de Filumenismo) have curated their second on-line Phillumeny Exhibition which opened on 8th April 2023. Their first Exhibition last year was really good, and we encourage everyone to visit their new Show which we are sure you will enjoy.
Our friends in the Portuguese Phillumeny Society (Associação Portuguesa de Filumenismo) have curated their fourth on-line Phillumeny Exhibition which opened on 8th April 2025. Their previous Exhibitions have all been really good, and we encourage everyone to visit their new Show which we are sure you will enjoy. It runs until 30th June.
Our friends in the Portuguese Phillumeny Society (Associação Portuguesa de Filumenismo) have announced that they will hold the 3rd APF on-line Phillumeny Exhibition in April 2024
More information can be obtained from aspofilumenismo@gmail.com and the deadline for receipt of exhibits is 31st March 2024.
The Catalogues for Meeting Auctions are always printed in the Society magazine, but more Lots always arrive after printing and before the Auction.
We are now updating the Catalogue on the web site with these additions, so it’s always keeping an eye on the listings.
More and more Phillumeny-related groups are appearing on Facebook and we want to provide links to them from our website, so have created a new page which you can find here.
Although the Society does not yet currently have a Facebook page it is something we are actively looking into.
Between 1st and 15th January 2021 the Bangladesh Matchbox Collector’s Club held the world’s first on-line matchbox exhibition. The Exhibition is now closed, but a review of it can be found in the February magazine.
The new Netflix movie THE DIG is set in 1939 and tells the story of the Sutton Hoo archaeological dig and treasure trove. Many of the characters smoke, and there are several closeups of matchboxes. The continuity people did a good job, because they clearly show a wooden England’s Glory box on several occasions.