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

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

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.

The Phillumenist magazine, 10th Birthday edition, 1950
The Phillumenist magazine, 10th Birthday edition, 1950

Covid guidance for October 3rd meeting in London

Everyone attending the meeting on Sunday 3rd October is asked to observe the following Covid guidance, in order to comply with the Risk Assessment.

  1. 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.
  2. A supply of spare masks will be available for those who arrive without.
  3. 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.
  4. A one-way system will be in place, and having the fire door to the car park open will also allow for ventilation.
  5. Sanitizing sprays will be available at both doors and in the toilets.

On-line Phillumeny Exhibition 2021 is now CLOSED

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 hobby on 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. 

Award winners announced – On-line Phillumeny Exhibition 2021

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

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