{"id":3168,"date":"2025-12-23T10:03:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T10:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/?page_id=3168"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:42:57","slug":"on-line-exhibit-timeline","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/on-line-exhibit-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronology of the global match industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a chronological list of the key events in the history of the Global Match Industry, using information kindly provided by Richard Tolson<\/strong><\/a> and Roger Fennings<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
19th<\/sup> Century<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year<\/span><\/th>\nEvent<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1805 <\/td>\nJean Chancel invents a self-igniting match which required the splint (which was coated in chemicals) to be dipped in sulphuric acid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1805<\/td>\nGerman chemist Johann Wolfgang D\u00f6bereiner develops the first “fire rod,” which ignites hydrogen gas using platinum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1826<\/td>\nInvention of the first practical friction match, by John Walker, chemist of Stockton-on-Tees<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1827<\/td>\nJohn Walker\u2019s Friction Lights go on sale \u2013 the world\u2019s first<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1832<\/td>\nCharles Sauria develops matches with white phosphorus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1832<\/td>\nCoulettes Fabre & Cie begin match production in Marseilles, France<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1833<\/td>\nMatch production starts in Italy at the Albani factory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1835<\/td>\nBalthazar Mertens starts making matches in Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1836<\/td>\nIn the USA Alonzo Philips produces his \u2018first improved friction matches\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1836<\/td>\nFirst Swedish match factory established by J S Bagge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1836<\/td>\nDon Pedro Gonz\u00e1lez starts making and selling matches from his factory in Barcelona, Spain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1837<\/td>\nFirst Russian match factory starts near St Petersburg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1839<\/td>\nVojt\u011bch Scheinost opens the first Austrian match factory in Su\u0161ice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1839<\/td>\nJakob Friedrich Kammerer, establishes the first factory for \u201cphosphorus matches\u201d in Switzerland in Zurich<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1841<\/td>\nV. Molenkoff opens the first match factory in Finland in Kuopio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1843<\/td>\nBritain\u2019s Bryant & May established, as general merchants<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1844<\/td>\nSwedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch develops the “safety match”, removing the phosphorous from the match head and placing it on a specially prepared striking surface. Also, he uses harmless amorphous red phosphorous not white<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1846<\/td>\nMatch manufacture begins in Norway<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1847<\/td>\nBrothers Johan Edvard and Carl Frans Lundstr\u00f6m founded a large-scale factory in J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1851<\/td>\nGreat Exhibition in Hyde Park, London with eleven match manufacturers exhibiting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1855<\/td>\nSwedish manufacturer Johan Edvard Lundstr\u00f6m perfects the Safety Match and creates a new type of matchbox, a sleeve around a retractable inner tray, revolutionising the way matchboxes are made. The new product wins a diploma and a medal at the World Exhibition in Paris<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1855<\/td>\nBryant & May pay Lundstr\u00f6m \u00a3100 for the UK rights to make Safety Matches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1855<\/td>\nRoche & Cie begin production in France<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1855<\/td>\nBryant & May Ltd, London establish their first trading connections with Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1858<\/td>\nThe J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping factory is producing 12 million boxes a year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1861<\/td>\nBryant & May open the Fairfield Works factory in Bow, London and begin manufacturing their own matches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1862<\/td>\nFirst automatic match making machine is designed by Alexander Lagerman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1862<\/td>\nUS Congress introduces a Match Tax as part of Revenue Act<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1863<\/td>\nReport on Children\u2019s Employment in UK Lucifer Manufacture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1867<\/td>\nCausemille Jeune & Cie begin production in France<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1870<\/td>\nMennen & Keunen established a match factory in Eindhoven, Holland<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1871<\/td>\nBritish Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Lowe proposes a match tax, which is rapidly withdrawn after a public outcry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1872<\/td>\nFinland is the first country in the world to ban the use of White Phosphorous in match production<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1872<\/td>\nFrance establishes a state monopoly for the production of matches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1875<\/td>\nMakoto Shimizu founds a full-scale match factory in Tokyo called \u201cShinsuisha\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1876<\/td>\nCaptain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel, inspiring the eponymous match brand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1877<\/td>\nLavigne & Cia. start making safety matches in Argentina<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1879<\/td>\nFirst Chinese match factory, Qiao Ming (How Ming) (\u5de7\u660e), is established in Guangdong (Canton) by Wei Youxuan (\u536b\u6709\u8f69)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1880<\/td>\nDiamond Match Co. is founded in the USA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1880<\/td>\nAnt\u00f3nio Maria Mattos opens a match factory in Porto, Portugal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1884<\/td>\nMatch production starts in South Africa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1888<\/td>\nMatchgirls Strike at Bryant & May\u2019s Fairfield Works in Bow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1889<\/td>\nCompa\u00f1\u00eda General de F\u00f3sforos (CGF) formed in Argentina with the merger of three match factories<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1891<\/td>\nThe Salvation Army open a match factory at Old Ford, near Bow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1892<\/td>\nJoshua Pusey patents the bookmatch in the USA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1892<\/td>\nSpanish Government nationalises the match industry, creating a national monopoly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1894<\/td>\nIn Brazil the Fiat Lux company starts production<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1895<\/td>\nPortuguese Government nationalises the match industry, creating a national monopoly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1895<\/td>\nR. Bell & Company builds a match factory in Swan Street, Burnley an inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1895<\/td>\nGujarat (Gujrat) Islam Match Manufacturing Co. opens in Ahmedabad, India<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1899<\/td>\nWhite Phosphorus report<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1900 onwards<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1900<\/td>\nBryant & May acquire Sevene & Cahen’s patent rights for ‘safe phosphorus’<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1903<\/td>\nJ\u00f6nk\u00f6ping Vulcan formed, and grants Bryant & May a seven year agency for their Swedish matches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1903<\/td>\nJ\u00f6nk\u00f6ping Vulcan export 90% of the company’s production across the world<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1903<\/td>\nAustrian independent companies merge to form Solo A G<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1905<\/td>\nFoundation of the Philippine Match Co.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1905<\/td>\nBritish Match Makers Association formed (by 7 principal manufacturers)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1906<\/td>\nBerne Convention on the abolition of use of White Phosphorus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1909<\/td>\nBryant & May, Bell & Company Pty Ltd forms and opens their new Empire Works in Church Street, Richmond, Victoria, Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1910<\/td>\nWhite Phosphorus (Matches) Prohibition Act comes into force in UK, banning manufacture and import<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1912<\/td>\nUnion Allumetti\u00e8re (Union Match) founded in Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1913<\/td>\nB&M acquire controlling interest in S J Moreland & Sons Ltd, Gloucester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1915<\/td>\nCia. Chilena de F\u00f3sforos, is founded in Chile<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1916<\/td>\nTaxation on matches introduced in UK. Official price was 3 boxes for 2d. Foreign imports to UK banned<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1917<\/td>\nMerger of major Swedish Match companies to form Svenska T\u00e4ndsticks AB, Swedish Match<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1924<\/td>\nOpening of Nur match factory in Acre, Palestine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1928<\/td>\nFirst organised society of matchbox label collectors founded in Osaka Ringi Koyukai, Japan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1930<\/td>\nFirst Egyptian match factory established<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1932<\/td>\nSuicide of Ivar Kreuger<\/a>, the Swedish \u2018Match King\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1933<\/td>\nNorth of England Match Co Ltd (NEMCO) established in West Hartlepool, County Durham<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1935<\/td>\nHeroical\u2019 and \u2018Help\u2019 brands are issued in Russia to celebrate the rescue of the Chelyushkin Polar exploration ship<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1935<\/td>\nEstablishment of SEITA, the French match monopoly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1935<\/td>\nJaime Sweilbelmann and Oscar Campos open the first match factory in Costa Rica<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1939<\/td>\nGreat China Match Co, starts production in Hong Kong<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1941<\/td>\nBryant & May’s factory in Liverpool is destroyed by German bombing <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1945<\/td>\nBritish Matchbox Label and Booklet Society formed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1947<\/td>\nIndependence of India sees issue of many celebratory labels in that country<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1948<\/td>\nJ\u00f6nk\u00f6ping match factory issues \u2018Jubileums\u2019 label to celebrate 100 years of production at their Lake V\u00e4ttern factory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1956<\/td>\nThe Spanish Government places the match industry back into private ownership, Fosforera Espa\u00f1ola and Fosforera Canariense are formed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1959<\/td>\nThe Swan on the vesta box changes direction and swims from left to right. It still does<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1971<\/td>\nWooden match production at Bow ceases<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1973<\/td>\nBryant & May merge with Wilkinson Sword to create Wilkinson Match<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1979<\/td>\nWilkinson Match close their London factory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1980<\/td>\nWilkinson Match sells to Allegheny International<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1981<\/td>\nNew owners close former Bryant & May Glasgow factory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1987<\/td>\nSwedish Match acquire the match manufacturing interests of Allegheny International<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1991<\/td>\nSwedish Match present a new, environmentally friendly safety match, containing no sulphur or environmentally harmful materials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1994<\/td>\nMatch production in Britain ceases with the closure of the Bryant & May factory in Liverpool<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1996<\/td>\nBryant & May cease trading. Operations continue as Swedish Match<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a chronological list of the key events in the history of the Global Match Industry, using information kindly provided by Richard Tolson and Roger Fennings. 19th Century Year Event 1805  Jean Chancel invents a self-igniting match which required the splint (which was coated in chemicals) to be dipped in sulphuric acid 1805 German […] Read more<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3168","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3168"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6852,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3168\/revisions\/6852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}