Every week we'll be featuring the best in Vintage Match Book covers, as well as our "Board of Fame" featuring a range of whimsical and uniquely designed TheMatchGroup clients' matches!
Since we at TheMatchGroup are long time match collectors, it was natural for us to curate our Pinterest "Boards" by advertising themes such as:
So be sure to get in on the ”Hot Match on Striker Action” and call our team at TheMatchGroup 800.605.7331 to design your business's functional business cards, otherwise known as advertising matches!
Match book collecting is a fun and inexpensive way to create a visual record of your favorite destinations and worldwide travel.
During it's heyday from the 1940's-70's, matchbooks were available and distributed by a wide range of businesses for advertising such as flower shops, dry cleaners, car dealers, jewelry stores, dress shops, funeral homes and airlines, as well as by businesses to promote their wares and services to other businesses with highly detailed and artistically renderings of their products emblazoned on their match covers !
Today, matches are distributed for free as "functional business cards" by your favorite restaurants, hotels, as well as candle retailers and cigar and men's gift shops. While local bans on smoking have had an effect on reducing the number of businesses that used to distribute their matchbooks to their patrons, a resurgence and appreciation for the whimsical and usefulness of matchbooks as a collectible has seen a reversal in this trend.
While many matchbooks are very elaborately designed and are "little works of art", the value of your matchbook collection is measured by the memories at the time in which you collected them. The true beauty of the match collecting hobby lies not only with their practical use around the home but also in the way that they can act as a memento of unique experiences as well your personal stories surrounding those experiences. Getting started collecting matchbooks is easy to do and a display of colorful matches never fails to provide a great conversation piece when entertaining!
Get in on the ”Hot Match on Striker Action” and goto: TheMatchGroup or call one of our match mavens at TheMatchGroup's world headquarters located in Little Falls, NJ at 800.605.7331 to design your business' own branded advertising match books or boxes right now!
There are several feature articles about the effect that World War II has had on the factory's work force. It stated that one of the plant's first employees when the Hudson factory opened in 1930; Sergeant Anthony Cordato was killed in action during the Battle of the Marshall Islands.
Page 5 of UNIVERSAL TIPS Sept 1944 Magazine with notes from active Service Men in WWII who were employed at the Hudson, NY plant
The Hudson Plant Manager David Darwe wrote an article "SUMMING UP AND LOOKING FORWARD". In this piece, Mr Darwe described the effect that the war was having on the East Coast of America "...the war with it's terrible implications probably made a deeper impression in the East, particularly in the early stages, than the rest of the country". He went on to mention the frequent black outs and air raid drills and a fair number of his factory crews were active as air wardens or at air observation posts during their leisure time. Mr. Darwe was pleased with Universal's contribution to the war effort with production of propaganda match books shipped off to the Army and the Navy, as well as 43 men who left the plant to enter the various branches of the Armed Forces with the sad news that one employee was "never to return to join us at Hudson again"
HUDSON, NY FACTORY MGR DAVID DARWE. Who's previous place of employment was at the Swedish Match Corp.
My favorite portion of Mr. Darwe's article was his mention of the "girls" that stepped in where the men left off. "The opinions of many in the beginning as to whether the enlistment of the girls would turn out to be a success were discouraging (to put it mildly), however, it certainly is now evident that the girls are doing a swell job and everybody seems to consider their work as quite natural, whether they appear in overalls or in more conventional dress." Even after issuing that "compliment" he couldn't help but mention that " Fortunately most of our key men have remained with us in this trying period, a fact, we believe, that is worthy of emphasis."
It's worth noting that Universal Match Corp. operated five separate match production plants during this period -"The Golden Age of match book Advertising"
To promote your business and to get in on the ”Hot Match on Striker Action” call our match mavens at TheMatchGroup
at 800.605.7331 or shoot us an email at strike@getmatches.com and we'll be happy to guide you through the simple process of placing your custom branded match order!
A fun blog post from REFINERY 29 sharing some of the author's favorite match books from up and down Manhattan, as well as a few from the Hamptons and some other New York-related locales.
"...this is all about really unique specimens of miniature artwork you'd love to carry in your bag or keep on your mantel—whether you need a light or not. "I love simple, elegant design that feels relevant but timeless," says the author Emmett Shine. From an old-school Soviet print to a simple pair of peepers, Shine's favorite samples are all here,... along with the lowdown on what makes them so special.
...there are endlessly major match books all over the Big Apple, ....., so leave us a comment if you think we missed some badass 'books. Can't start a fire without a spark, right?"
Yes. Matches provide two very import basic human needs: lighting a fire warmth and for cooking.
My company TheMatchGroup produces branded matches for restaurants, hotels, candle companies and tobacconists for them to use the element of fire as a basis for what we refer to branded matches as "Functional Business Cards".
TOM & JERRY 
COMMERCE RESTAURANT
DAVE'S GRILL
MARITIME
COFFEE SHOP BAR 
RUSCHMEYERS
TINY'S 
THE MERMAID INN
BAR LUBITSCH 
THE DUTCH
JONES
