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Harlequin Matches

In 2008 a comprehensive book with 88 pages was published with the title Harlequin Matches. This was followed by a second edition that was significantly larger with 120 pages. Now a third edition, which adds in even more information about these fantastically colourful matchboxes has been published (February 2021) and is now available for purchase. It details Bryant & May’s range of Harlequin Matches. It is laid out in the same format as the previous editions. It is arranged in two sections. Section One details the cardboard Harlequin range and Section Two the Plastic Harlequin range. The third edition now numbers 137 pages and is illustrated thought-out in colour with 173 pictures. Full review will appear in the April magazine.

Harlequin Matches Third Edition

Harlequin Matches Third Edition 

On-line Auction success

We held our inaugural On-line Auction on Sunday 14th March and were really pleased with the way it ran. 25 members attended on-line and 8 postal bidders had also submitted bids. There was a lot of enthusiastic bidding for 30 very desirable Lots, and the results will be published in our April magazine.

Our next Auction takes place on Sunday 9th May at 14:00, and the Catalogue will be published with our April magazine.

If you would like to take part then please email us at onlineauction@phillumeny.com

Award winners announced

The names of the annual Society Award winners were announced at the 2021 AGM, which was held on-line for the first time. This years winners are :

  • The Tony Gallaher Memorial Award for the Best Article published in the Society magazine in the previous year was awarded to : Roy Hunt for his article ‘Roy Hunt Matches 1985 – 1995’ (published in the February 2020 magazine No.437 on page 6)
  • The KC Literary Award for the Best Publication reviewed in the Society magazine in the previous year was awarded to : Alan Middleton for his book ‘North of England Match Co., West Hartlepool 1932-1954‘ (reviewed in the April 2020 magazine No.438 on page 26)

Alan’s book is available from our Shop Window.

NEMCO 1932 - 1954 by Alan Middleton
NEMCO 1932 – 1954 by Alan Middleton

How much did a box of matches cost in 1944 ?

We recently received an enquiry from an author who is working on a novel set in late 1944 where a teenager in London is trying to sell individual matches to raise some money, and asked us how much a box of matches would have cost back then. After scratching our heads for a bit we were able to provide two answers :

  1. the short answer : the price of a box of ordinary matches was retailed at 1½d in 1944
  2. the long answer : the retail price of matches was subject to price control from 31st July 1940 until 9th December 1951, and during the war only British made matches were available

Read more

We’ve joined Instagram

Our Instagram account @ukphillumeny is now up and running and shows some of our archive photos of matchboxes, labels, bookmatches and hardware.  We will be regularly posting new photos from Society archives and encourage members to follow us. We’ll be using #ukphillumeny to tag all our posts. This is our first step into Social Media, which we are convinced will allow us to make contact with new members and phillumeny enthusiasts worldwide and increase everyone’s knowledge of the fascinating world of phillumeny. You can also email us using instagram@phillumeny.com

Instagram logo
Instagram logo

Archive – On-line Phillumeny Exhibition 2021 – all you need to know

Key details

  • When is it? The Exhibition will run from 1st October to 31st October 2021
  • What is it? The Exhibition will be a collection of phillumeny Exhibits which are held in a dedicated part of this web site. There will be an (on-line) Exhibition Catalogue, a Visitor Book, and Awards. We will run weekly guided tours (using Zoom), and there will be opportunities to talk with the Exhibitors
  • What does an Exhibit look like? Each Exhibit will consist of up to 10 images together with a title, a description of the Exhibit and a biography of the Exhibitor. Here is an example Exhibit. 
  • Is there a closing date for submitting Exhibits? Yes, the closing date was 1st September 2021
  • Is there a theme? Exhibits must be of phillumenistic material, but can be on any topic. Also, we would encourage Exhibits about “why I started collecting”
  • Is this a temporary Exhibition? Yes, it will close on 31st October 2021, but we intend to include the Award winning exhibits in a Permanent Gallery on this web site
  • Does this replace the physical Exhibitions? No, there will still be physical Exhibitions (when circumstances allow) but the On-line Exhibition could become an annual event if members like it
  • How will it be advertised? We will use the magazine, web site and Instagram to advertise the Exhibition and encourage members to use their personal networks to spread the word

How do I take part?

Visit the Society web site during October – everybody is welcome to visit the Exhibition.

Members without internet access can hopefully could use a public-access facility (e.g. a library) to view the Exhibition.

So what do I need to do now?

  • Put the dates in your diary and make sure you visit the Exhibition

We believe that this On-line Exhibition will be popular with our members, and also hope that it will attract new members to the Society. Please send any questions or suggestions to onlineexhibition@phillumeny.com or add your comments to this Blog.

Society Bookshop is now open

After almost three years we’re pleased to announce that the Society Bookshop has now re-opened, stocking over 25 great books on all aspects of Phillumeny from individual match manufacturers to the story of entire nations. You can visit the Bookshop here and order your books on-line. The full bookshop list is also available in the August Match Label News. 

One of the great books in our Bookshop
One of the great books in our Bookshop

Takeshi Yokomizo (Japan)

Committee’s Award winner 2021

Exhibit : Hi-no-Yojin (fire prevention in Japan)

Boxes of matches used to be a familiar printed matter and were regarded fondly by people. But as a throw-away object, their life tends to be short. I embrace their fate and continue to collect them as a record of our everyday life.

Japan export to Europe, Meiji - Taisho era, 37 x 56 mm
Japan export to Europe, Meiji – Taisho era, 37 x 56 mm

I have been collecting for 30 years (labels and skillets 50,000+).

My collection mainly focuses on Japanese labels for export matchboxes in the Meiji – Taisho era (1868 – 1926).

I am also interested in Japanese advertisement matchboxes used for pro-war propaganda produced just before Japan’s defeat in WWII.

 

 

Some of these labels are shown in the gallery below, click on an image to enlarge it.

Click here to return to the Gallery.

Stéphane Pinaud (France)

Member’s Award winner 2023 and 2024, President’s Award winner 2024

Exhibits : French matchbox labels (1830s – 1870s), Portefeuilles

Matchboxes caught my attention when I was 11 years old. I started the collection imitating a cousin. At first it was a game and an excuse to escape from the family farm to explore the shops and tobacco shop. Stéphane

Casque d'or label, 50 x 35 mm
Casque d’or label, 50 x 35 mm

Exploring the attics didn’t turn out, but I found “Casque d’or” box, dated mid-1920s, in a drawer at my grandparents’ house, a treasure for me at this time !

The virus for good infected me in 1994, at random from a newsstand, when I discovered the existence of L’Association Vitolphilique et Philumenique Francaise (AVPF) through a classified ad from a collector in a specialized newspaper. I was then 22 years old and began to search for old boxes.

I immediately made the choice to limit my collection to complete French boxes and to go back as closely as possible to the origins of this everyday object. My oldest box is from the end of the 1830s.

 

From before 1950 I have about 3500 complete boxes including 1000 from before the monopoly established in 1872. Over time I have also collected labels, especially for advertising boxes from the 1920s / 1930s some of which are very rare. Since 2008 I have been in charge of writing the magazine of AVPF and since 2011 chairman of the AVPF.

Click here to return to the Gallery.

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