Advertising Resources in the BPCL

Patented in 1892 by lawyer Joshua Pusey, the matchbook, a seemingly insignificant piece of cardboard enclosing a handful of disposable paper matches, quickly became the staple advertising space at the dawn of the 20^th century. Beginning with beer company Pabst and tobacco company Bull Durham, businesses big and small started to purchase printings of books from match companies such as Diamond and Ohio which found their way into millions of coat pockets, hotel rooms, and restaurant ashtrays.

As the butane lighter usurped the match as the portable cigarette light of choice and radio and television became the new frontier of advertising (not to mention the decline in the ubiquity of smoking), matchbooks fell out of favor, now only commercially used as a boutique novelty advertisements for high-end or niche establishments hoping to invoke a sense of the past. Collectors known as phillumenists (“lovers of light”) still seek out the cardboard rectangles, however, for reasons as diverse as the pictures on their covers. For some, the images on the matchbooks are art in and of themselves; for others, the specific company advertised is of interest, or the category of good and services. Still others attempt to complete sets of novelty books, with the matches themselves printed with or in the shape of such images as bowling pins or ladies’ stockings, or commemorative books, featuring images of historical figures or celebrating such events as a World’s Fair. Whatever the reason, people have come to adore the matchbook in the same way as the baseball card, as a snapshot in history.

For a detailed list of categories, see the Matchbook Covers Collection finding aid.