This exhibit is not a treatise on matches, though I do hope to present one someday. The more modest goal of this exhibit is to show and explain some of the categories of match-related give-aways and premiums the cigar industry used over the years. If I am successful, you will be able to identify and put names to what you own, the better to research or sell it.
Don’t be surprised if the item you own and would like to learn about isn’t depicted. Only a modest number of each type item is shown, with an emphasis on the most collectible, those with advertising. My collecting years were focussed on the cigar industry and the development of its packaging. Premiums, cutters, lighters and other “go-withs” have always been of only peripheral interest; little effort was made to collect or study them. After six decades collecting, my holdings of this type remain modest.
Matchbooks advertising cigar brands and stores are collectible. An exhibit of them is coming one of these days. Meanwhile, while you’re waiting, here’s a look at some other match-related collectibles.