June 2024 magazine
The June magazine has now been posted to members. It includes full details of the July On-line Auction and more details about our On-line Phillumeny Exhibition in October.
Cycling
Exhibitor : Mike Pryor
Back in 2017 my wife and I decided that we wanted to start cycling, after not having done any for about 40 years. But we live on a hill, so we knew that a regular bicycle wouldn’t work for us. So we decided to invest in a couple of (folding) electric bicycles.
World War II propaganda bookmatches
Exhibitor : Ed Wright
These sets of covers with 12 different war propaganda designs were issued for sale in Canada in the early 1940’s by ‘The Book Match Mfrs. Ltd. Toronto’. Note the stock-design on the front cover which states that the Book Match sold for 1c for 30 matches. They were issued in various colours and may even have come in other colours as well. Note the 3/10c Excise Tax Paid imprint which further verifies when made. This value was required by law to be printed on match books of this size (30 matches), made for the home market, to prove the necessary tax had been paid and was in use between June 25th 1940 & March 22, 1949. Inside printing for private advertisers was an available option, at I am sure a nominal cost.
———————————————————
These sets were also offered to private companies who could have their own specific message and/or address printed on the front cover instead of the stock design previously mentioned. These sets are known to exist with or without the Excise tax imprint, sometimes with adverts inside. Many of these companies sent their matches to Canadian troops overseas on which no tax levy was imposed and therefore the imprint was not required. These covers were printed on the inside with a standard message for the troops and were distributed through ‘The Overseas League (Canada)Tobacco Fund’.
These propaganda sets are highly sought-after by collectors around the globe. Due to National unrest and constraints, caused by the war, especially product shortages and rationing, hobbies and collecting items were not a priority so one must assume supply was limited. Many company flats have shown up, so collectors can still document these gems.
Click here to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.
Two inspiring artists 2024
Exhibitor : Shakil Huq
Besides being a matchbox collector I am a painter and matchbox designer. My exhibit shows two very different artists who have greatly inspired me.
Vincent van Gogh
There is nothing new to say about the immortal works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Vincent is one of the world’s greatest painters. His artwork always inspires me. From that inspiration I designed a total of ten designs. My exhibit is dedicated to this great artist. Thank you.
Iam Tongi
William “Iam” Guy Tongi, born September 1, 2004, is an American singer who won 21 seasons of American Idol. Aimee is the first person from Hawaii, the first Pacific Islander, and the first non-Native singer in three years, to win American Idol. I made this matchbox design not a little but a lot out of emotion.
Just 18 years of age, Iam has a different kind of charm in his songs. Those who have heard him will understand what I mean. Iam’s father passed away very recently and he was the man and inspiration behind Iam’s music. Iam without a doubt one of the few people in the world born with a rare beautiful singing voice. That is why those who have heard Iam Tongi’s songs and stories shed tears. I couldn’t stop the tears either. I was impressed by the love for his father. No one could hold back the tears when Iam sang James Blunt’s – Monster song for his father. An unprecedented scene!
I am a very simple person. Even if I want to, I can’t do much for my means. This boy, thousands of miles away as my child, truly touched my heart. I wish him much love and good health. Dedicating these matchboxes out of love for Iam Tongi. Some day, I will definitely arrange to convey these messages of my love to him through some means.
Ed Wright (Canada)
Exhibit : World War II propaganda bookmatches
To be supplied
Click here to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.
Mike Pryor (UK)
Exhibit : Cycling
Specialism – Spain
Since meeting the legendary collector and founder of the Cornish Match Company in 1971, David van der Plank, I have had a deep interest in Spanish Matchboxes and the history of the Spanish Match industry which began in 1836.
My collection contains Spanish examples from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, and although the majority of these are labels I do have a good number of beautiful complete boxes.
Like most collectors I also have many examples from other countries, and prefer complete boxes wherever possible. I also always enjoy exchanging information with other collectors and learning new things about our wonderful hobby of phillumeny.
Publications and Web sites
I write regular articles for the Match Label News, which is the journal of the British Matchbox Label and Bookmatch Society.
I have also developed two web sites which focus on specific aspects of my collection :
-
Gross packet label, a few Spanish Inserts The Old Cornish Mine web site describes the history of the series which first got me interested in collecting, and shows illustrations of all the labels known to have been issued www.old-Cornish-mines.co.uk
- Spanish Matchbox Inserts (Fototipias) web site is dedicated to the history and beauty of the Insert cards which were issued in Spanish matchboxes between 1897 and 1910 www.inserts.org.uk
Click here to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.
Exhibition Catalogue 2024
Here is our Exhibition Catalogue. The Exhibits are listed in alphabetical order, click on a link below to access an Exhibit or read an Exhibitor’s biography. Most images can be enlarged by clicking on them. An asterisk indicates that the Exhibit is available in dual language. Please remember to sign our Visitor Book and to vote for your favourite Exhibit.
| Exhibit | Exhibitor | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycling | Mike Pryor | United Kingdom |
 |
| tbd | Gísli Jóhann Sigurðsson | Iceland |
 |
| World War II propaganda bookmatches | Ed Wright | Canada |
 |
| Automobiles | Masud Ahmed | Bangladesh |
 |
| Beautiful flowers on matchboxes & labels | Himel Rozario | Bangladesh |
|
| Cleveland Match Company | Alan Middleton | United Kingdom |
|
| Döbereiner lighters | Tom O’Key | USA |
 |
| Extraordinary Matches | Phil Stringer | United Kingdom |
|
| French matchbox labels (1830s – 1870s) * | Stephane Pinaud | France |
 |
| From error to deception * | Jesús María Bollo García | Spain |
 |
| Holloway’s Pills and Ointments | Mike Pryor | United Kingdom |
|
| How the humble matchbox shaped my life | Ian Macilwain | United Kingdom |
|
| Indian Forest Memoirs | Simon Blackman | United Kingdom |
|
| Match related postcards and covers | Fernán Pacheco | Costa Rica |
 |
| Norm – everyone’s favourite couch potato | Jerry Bell | Australia |
 |
| Pillbox tops found on the Australian market | David Figg | Australia |
|
| Sets of Six | Vladimír Steiner | Czech Republic |
 |
| Some Japanese Favourites | Chris Hime | Australia |
|
| Swedish Favourites | Al-Razee Anonnya | Bangladesh |
|
| The Eight Immortals of Henry Waugh & Co | Badrul Hisham Jaafar | Malaysia |
 |
| The enduring Umakubi (Horse Head) brand * | Takeshi Yokomizo | Japan |
 |
| The Harlequin Match (by Bryant & May) | Rupert Harris | Great Britain |
|
| The last five matchboxes in Bangladesh | MD Abid Mallick | Bangladesh |
|
| The man who designed Spain (also designed matchboxes) * | José Ventura García | Spain |
|
| The Portuguese presence in India * | Joel Viana de Lemos | Portugal |
 |
| The Swiss Chamois * | Stefan Joset | Switzerland |
 |
| Two inspiring artists | Shakil Huq | Bangladesh |
|
Gísli Jóhann Sigurðsson (Iceland)
Exhibit : tbd
Land of ice and fire – how I started collecting matchbox labels
When I started collecting matchboxes in 1962 or 1963 (10 – 11 years old) it was very common for boys in Siglufjörður to do so. Siglufjörður is a small town in northern Iceland that is surrounded by high mountains and in those years was only open to cars due to snow for about 4 months of the year. Other transport was by sea twice a week.
During the summer, a lot of life moved into the town because ships came there from Europe for the herring as well as other people from other parts of Iceland to work with the herring. The harbours were not fenced off and closed as they are today and we went on board every single ship that came to get matchboxes in exchange. I usually went with a few packets and offered an exchange, but usually opened the packages and exchanged 1 for 1 box.
Most of the boys kept their collection in boxes from biscuits or shoeboxes, and for me it was 2 or 3 drawers in a chest of drawers. The biscuit boxes and shoe boxes then often end up in the attic. When I got a little collection started my father saw that I was very interested in this. He was a fisherman on herring boats and trawlers, he started collecting with me and was soon in touch with a Danish woman who was a collector, he read an article she had written in a Danish book called Hvem Hvad Hvor. From her he obtained information about the BML&BS which we joined. When I was 19 years old, I moved to Reykjavík and set aside the collection for many years.
From time to time I flipped through the album collection when I came to visit my family home. About 20 years ago my father called me and said that now I had to come and take the collection, because he was starting to lose so much sight that he could not continue anymore. He wanted me to have the collection and take care of it but he was going to view the collection from time to time in a similar way as I had done. So I drove north with a trailer on the back of our car and picked it up. The collection is now 155 books of labels.
Click here to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.