Vintage Match Book Collection
In a Bowl
$ 75
(Sold) *
Any business before 2000 knew that one of the first marketing tools you needed was a matchbook emblazoned with your name and logo, and anyone growing up in the Pacific Northwest likely had at least one relative with a matchbook collection—my Uncle Ted being a prime example. Gathered from travel or work trips, these books provided many young people with their first sustained exposure to graphic design and visual culture. For bored youngsters in the pre-Internet days, a matchbook collection became a quiet refuge while the adults shared cocktails and droned on about stupid shit. Unlike today’s flattened, homogenized design landscape, earlier eras were marked by a rich diversity of ideas and design philosophies, evident in the ubiquitous matchbook, where graphic designers could experiment with a wide range of fonts, colors, embossing, cutouts, and countless other techniques. Interestingly, the most successful matchbooks were often those not used for their intended purpose; ideally, a design was so compelling that people collected it rather than lighting a single match. With the decline of smoking and society increasingly reduced to feckless, stupid followers of Pinterest and algorithms, matchbooks fell out of fashion. Today, the pleasure of holding Prometheus’s gift remains a rare treat for high-end, esoteric companies and the few who still appreciate design.