August magazine
The August magazine has now been posted to members. It includes full details of the September On-line Auction and more details about our On-line Phillumeny Exhibition in October.
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.
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.
Japan export to India, Meiji – Taisho era
Japan export label, Meiji – Taisho era
Japan pro-war propaganda label, WWII
Japan pro-war propaganda label, WWII
Our Average Magazine Reader (1950)
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.
London Meetings to go ahead
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 Events page.
Jesús María Bollo García (Spain)
Member’s Award winner 2021 and Committee’s Award winner 2022
Exhibits : Murder on Fuencarral street, 19th century scrapbook albums, 21st Century treasure
In 1955 there was a joint military base of the American-Spanish army in Torrejón de Ardoz, a town near Madrid. For senior military officials, the American army rented or bought (I don’t know exactly which) a hotel that was located very close to the house where I lived – the Hotel Balboa.
I had to walk past this hotel every day on my way to the Institute where I was studying, and I started noticing and then collecting the matchboxes that the soldiers threw down on the ground when they had used all the matches. These boxes came from the supermarket inside the base which sold only American products.
This is how I started to acquire the wonderful series of “Circus Day”, “Homes of Great Americans”, “The Old West”, “American Folklore” and other examples from Diamond Match Company. Later, I naturally started collecting Spanish labels which became my specialism and passion, but always finding room for a few interesting items from other countries.
In 2018 I published “Los Fabricantes de Cerillas” a 2-volume illustrated book which describes the history of the Spanish Match Industry from 1834 to 1899 based on the archives of the Digital Newspaper Library of the National Library and the Historical Archive of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
At the moment I am preparing a Catalogue of the Manufacturers of Spanish matchboxes, although given the complexity of the subject and the difficulty of finding information about these manufacturers I realise that the Catalogue may never see the light of day.
Click here to return to the Gallery.
Badrul Hisham Jaafar (Malaysia)
President’s Award winner 2021 and 2022
Exhibits : The tigers of Malaya, Sir Adamjee – From a Match Trader to a Nation Builder
I have been a collector for over 30 years. My early interest involves numismatic and philatelic items.
About 8 years ago, I started to pursue phillumeny interest in earnest. Why? As a collector, I was looking for tantalizing factors of something being interesting, teasingly challenging, valuable, historically beneficial perhaps or artistically profound, with the bottom line being simply: satisfying and fun. Phillumeny satisfies all those criteria.
My phillumeny collection is geographically focused towards anything Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia originated or related.
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