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.
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)
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 :
the short answer : the price of a box of ordinary matches was retailed at 1½d in 1944
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
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
We’re pleased to announce that due to the continued decrease of Covid numbers in the UK we have now provisionally booked Sheen Lane Centre, London for an all-day meeting on Sunday October 3rd more details here.
We are really excited to announce that we will be holding an On-line Phillumeny exhibition from 1st to 31st October 2021. You can find all the details here.
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.
Our friends in the Bangladesh Matchbox Collectors’ Club are holding their first face-to-face exhibition from 22 to 24 September 2023. We wish them every success with the show.
The Phillumenist magazine ‘s tenth anniversary edition in 1950 included an article entitled “Our Average Reader”. Here’s what it said, which makes fascinating reading and an interesting comparison to today :
Our average reader is 38, has 10,828 different labels, and has collected abroad. He picks up boxes fresh to him in the street, also collects mint and damaged labels, and keeps ancient boxes intact. He started the hobby on his own initiative, keeps his labels hinged in albums by paper hinges, and classified by countries of manufacture. He calls himself a phillumenist, corresponds with collectors at home and abroad (chiefly Czechoslovakia), will reply quickly. He spends 5½ hours a week on the hobby, keeps his “Phillumenist” magazines, started collecting in 1936, and reads the magazine from page one. He has Cruse’s book, and has entertained a fellow collector at home. He has this magazine as far back a 1944, specialises in Swedish brands, has most labels of Sweden and rarely any from Russia.
The Phillumenist magazine, 10th Birthday edition, 1950
We are pleased to announce that the London meetings at Sheen Lane Centre will be going ahead, starting on 3rd October. Sheen Lane Centre have informed us that they are compliant with all the necessary Covid regulations, and that our meetings can go ahead as planned.
Full details of all Society Events can be found on our Eventspage.
A new Exhibition has opened in London, entitled “Always a Show” by Aaron Kasmin, which features works of art inspired by recent American feature matchbook discoveries.
It is at the Sims Reed Gallery and runs from from 16 September – 28 October 2021.
The exhibition showcases twenty-nine new pencil drawings created during lockdowns, which portray vibrant scenes from the post-prohibition era.
Everyone attending the meeting on Sunday 3rd October is asked to observe the following Covid guidance, in order to comply with the Risk Assessment.
Notices will be fixed to the outside of the fire door to the car park. and to the door in the lobby advising re symptoms, face covering and hand sanitising.
A supply of spare masks will be available for those who arrive without.
There will be up to 50 attendees, and social distancing will be observed. The age group of attendees means that most will have had two vaccinations, and some will have had a third.
A one-way system will be in place, and having the fire door to the car park open will also allow for ventilation.
Sanitizing sprays will be available at both doors and in the toilets.
Our first On-line Phillumeny Exhibition opened its doors at 09:00 UK time on 1st October and runs for the entire month. It is jam-packed full of beautiful, exciting Exhibits from all over the world showing the full breadth of our hobby. Visit the Exhibition here.
Our third On-line Phillumeny Exhibition opened its doors at 07:00 UK time on 1st October and runs for the entire month. It is jam-packed full of beautiful, exciting Exhibits from all over the world showing the full breadth of our hobby. Visit the Exhibition here.
Our first On-line Phillumeny Exhibition ran from 1st October to 31st October 2021 and was an unqualified success, attracting over 2000 visitors during the month. We had over 40 exciting Exhibits from members across the world, covering the whole breadth of our hobbyon topics such as murder, fire, railways, tigers, postcards, and mandolins, and including a huge amount of never-before-seen material. The Award winners will be announced shortly and will go into a Permanent Gallery on our web site.
We have already started preparing for next year’s Exhibition, which will again take place in October.
Following our successful 2021 On-line Phillumeny Exhibition, the three Award winners have now been announced and their Exhibits can be seen in our Permanent Gallery.
The Award winners are :
The President’s Award winner is “The Tigers of Malaya” by Badrul Hisham Jaafar
The Members’ Award winner is “Murder on Fuencarral Street” by Jesús María Bollo García
The Committee’s Award winner is “Hi-no-Yojin” by Takeshi Yokomizo
