Old Advert. Torn From a Late '80's New York Magazine Featuring Matches from Famous Iconic NYC Night Clubs
Sorry for the old water stains and general tattiness of this old ad but I thought that I was obligated to share it with my fellow Phillumists!
This is an old advertisement for New York Magazine from the late '80's that featured matches from some of the most iconic nightclubs in NYC beginning with STUDIO 54 (1977), XENON (1978), MAGIQUE (1980), AREA (1981), PALLADIUM (1985), NELLS (1987) AND M.K.(1988).
Among the ones depicted in that ad, my favorites were AREA in Tribeca, PALLADIUM on East 14th St with it's famous private "invite only" celebrity packed Michael Todd Room and NELLS on West 14th street offering it's comfortable shabby chic old 'Victorian Library' theme. I experienced many unforgettable good times while attending each of those clubs, as well as many others at the time including The TUNNEL CLUB, The LIMELIGHT, CBGB's, MAX'S KANSAS CITY, THE ROOFTOP, SAVE THE ROBOTS and The PYRAMID CLUB in Alphabet City back when I was living in an apt in the '80's on Thompson St. in Greenwich Village.
In my opinion, the New York City of the '80's was the last era when NYC was the center of the nightclub universe; a period where one was able to experience the REAL unvarnished NYC club scene & live music without being forced to fork over $100-$200 for the privilege, a time when the City was a daily adventure (that was sometimes pretty scary) but I lived to tell the tale. It was the City that literally NEVER SLEPT! A time before the Bloomberg NYC of today that has sadly shed it's reputation as "FUN CITY".
Today's NYC sold it's soul by allowing itself to be dominated by the giant corporate footprints of a Starbucks on every corner, a GAP on every avenue, a "fill in the blank name" of every National Bank on every other corner that isn't a Starbucks, a Duane Reade/Walgreens, a "fill in the blank name"-Fast Food joint, and every national retail store stuffed into any available storefront that could be found inhabiting a mall in Anytown USA. The lack of today's diversity of locally unique NYC retail and entertainment venues is the sad result of skyrocketing rents offered by greedy landlords that only National & International corporations could afford.
Well, that's enough of my ranting for now....
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SPY MAGAZINE MARCH 1990 SCOOP White House Matches MADE IN CANADA! with quote from Joe Danon
Hilarious mention in Spy Magazine March 1990 Naked City Column exposing the fact that the White House's Official Presidential match books (for then Pres. George Bush Sr,) were produced in Canada!
At that time, I was the NY Sales Manager at the now defunct Universal Match Corp. that had recently moved it's last remaining US match factory to Canada from Hudson NY. I was quoted in the article responding to the intrepid reporter's question re. "The ominous legend printed on the bottom of the White House's matches that stated "Made in Canada" and "the potential firestorm of controversy" that it may cause. I told him "that we made the type very small and discrete as we were aware that we were dealing with a national symbol so we took precautions."
Then the writer contacted the White House spokesperson and she acknowledged that the matches were foreign made but was otherwise tight lipped about the situation...
Spy Magazine was a very funny satirical publication. If you're a fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, that magazine would be considered the journalistic equivalent to today's Daily Show.
Ahh good times, good times.
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The New York Times MATCHBOOK ADS Succeed For Lawyer
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/18/nyregion/matchbook-ads-succeed-for-lawyer.html?smid=pl-share
A clipping of an old New York Times article circa early '90's featuring Edward Horn, a New York lawyer who stated that he doesn't believe in promoting smoking but was thrilled with the ROI that his law firm's advertising matches provided. They proved their effectiveness as a targeted distributed form of advertising. After he compared the money that he'd spent on radio and print advertising campaigns, he was surprised that those campaigns brought in far fewer new clients than from the volume of calls that he received from people who received his advertising matchbooks!
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NEW YORK TIMES Magazine Article Who Made That? -Striking on the Modern Matchbook
Fun Match Fact: Who Invented the strike on cover match book?
"...Joshua Pusey, a lawyer and the inventor of the modern toboggan, patented a folded piece of cardboard carrying matches and a striker in 1892. .... legend suggests it had more to do with vanity than with safety. “I heard that he was a patent attorney and was always wearing suits and vests,” explains Mark Bean, President of the match division of New Hampshire’s D. D. Bean & Sons Company, which has been in the trade since 1938. “And that the box of wooden matches was bulky and awkward to carry around.”
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NY Times Article 3/24/12 MATCHES AS MEMORIES
NY Times Article 3/24/12 MATCHES AS MEMORIES
A terrific mention in the Sunday Times Magazine "Matches as Memories"
"They were once ephemera -written on, burned up in the space of a weekend -but they're now a keepsake."
"In a way, they are the perfect hotel hotel souvenirs, and also the most anachronistic -having been left essentially unchanged since the bygone days of steamer trunks...."
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