My mum Rene (Alice Irene Flitney née Harding) died in 1999. When my brother, sister and I went through her things we found an envelope full of old newspaper clippings and other bits and pieces. We looked through the papers and put the envelope away, but those yellowing pieces of paper keep whispering of half-forgotten times and places. Places like Butlers Cross, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, West Wycombe, Little Kimble, Wendover, Ellesborough, Southcourt and Princes Risborough.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

I'm a Phillumenist!

Not a lot of people know that and why should they when I've only just found out myself.


According to Wikipedia Phillumeny (also known as Phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc., The word, derived from Greek phil- [loving] + Latin lumen- [light], was introduced by the British collector Marjorie S. Evans in 1943 (who later became president of the British Matchbox Label & Booklet Society, now renamed as the British Matchbox Label and Bookmatch Society). A person who engages in Phillumeny is a Phillumenist. 

Going by the notes in my scrapbook, I became a phillumenist in 1963 and by September of that year I had 500 matchbox labels in my collection.


I seemed to do very well in that first year. Did my dad buy a collection to get me started? I feel sure he must have done. Back then the two of us spent almost every Saturday morning scouring the local second hand book shop – is it possible they came from there? Where is that time machine when I need it?  Three years later, another 100 or so had been added to the collection. The final tally from December 1975 is 699. 


I remember spending a great deal of time carefully gluing matchboxes onto pages. I must also have spent a lot of time counting them!


Choice Wines and liquors ... We Deliver


Hines' Downtown Liquor Store PH. WA. 63529 North Division Near Main 


I'm not sure what possessed me when it came to this page, pin-ups next to orphanages. So much for classification – what was I thinking?


A page dedicated to Camp 'Flags of Nations'. At first glance, they all look exactly the same (apart from the individual flags), but a closer inspection reveals several differences.


I assumed the oldest is on the left and the newest on the right. Do you agree?


Bomber Matches - Sahigara Match Works, Chorvad Road, (Gujarat, India)
This company is still in existence although I couldn't say if they still manufacture matches. The business is owned by Abdul Razak Ahmed. Trading as: Abdul Razak & Co. 
Also Sahigara Oil Mills.


The Ship and Swan Vestas were the matches of choice when I was growing up. We always had several boxes around the house.


Family holidays were spent in Devon and Cornwall where many a matchbox could be found.


Mum and dad with their pride and joy – a converted Bedford Dormobile. Dad did all the conversion work himself (with a little help from my brother Tony) even the tricky job of fitting the lifting roof.  The first holiday to Cornwall caused a few anxious moments because dad was concerned the roof would ‘lift or leak’ on the way, but he needn't have worried it worked beautifully.


The Old Cornish Mine series of matchboxes first appeared in 1962. A product of  the Cornish Match Company of Halsetown, Cornwall.  Rosemergy mine at Morvah was opened sometime prior to 1788 and reopened several times as part of the Morvah and Zennor Mines but was finally abandoned after a short-lived boom in tin prices in 1874.


Mum and I and the interior of the converted Dormobile.


Uncle Tom Cobley and all from the Old West Country series issued by the Two Counties Match Company, Honiton, Devon from 1963.

Although my collection is quite small in comparison to some, it contains a wealth of social history, which should keep me happily researching for years.





















This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday 296; Adverts, Wine and Old Labels

Now it's time to drink up and head on over to Sepia Saturday where the party will soon be in full swing.



Those of you with an interest in match box collecting might like this site Phillumeny.dk 

28 comments:

  1. I had no idea you collected these Barbara, what a lovely collection. xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sue,
      I don’t suppose you would have known because you were married and living away from home by then. You must have had Jacqueline when I started collecting and probably Michael as well. Strangely enough I have a vague recollection of Bob giving me a couple of matchboxes, but I could be wrong. I wish my memory was better.
      Good news about your move, hope it all goes smoothly from now on. xxx

      Delete
  2. Jo Featherston
    Fascinating! I had no idea there could be so many different ads on matchboxes. I'm still waiting for inspiration this week, and I certainly have nothing to compare with your amazing collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jo,

      I’m sorry about the odd way your comment is showing up on my blog. I managed to click on the delete button rather than the post button (silly me!) so I’ve cut and pasted the comment from the email.

      Thanks for your sweet words I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in matchbox tops, but some of the artwork on them is amazing. I didn’t research any of the boxes when I was collection, but I will now.

      Delete
    2. No problem. My daughter's father-in-law Charles Kiddle from Alton collects and publishes books about poster stamps, which are basically small company adverts that look quite similar in design to some of your matchbox images. Amazing what different people collect!

      Delete
    3. Hi Jo, I've just been looking at poster stamps on the Charles Kiddle website. The designs are gorgeous. Oh dear, I mustn't start collecting anything else!
      My sister is moving from Alton at the end of the month going to live in Oakley (Nr. Basingstoke). She will miss Alton, but her daughter lives in Basingstoke, and Sue also wants to be closer to the main hospital as her husband is unwell.

      Delete
  3. Oh, Barbara -- these are fantastic -- you even have one that advertises wine (good job). I guess I could never be a phillumenist, because I can't spell or say it.

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    Replies
    1. I’m not exactly sure how to say phillumenist either Deb. It’s a brand-new word to me, but I do hope to get the chance to drop it into conversation from time to time. :-)

      Delete
  4. What a great collection..and you're the first phillumenist I've ever heard of! So I thank you for sharing with us here. What a great collection. We have so few smokers these days, I wonder if match boxes would be a good way to advertise. But that makes your collection even more rare and valuable, doesn't it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Barbara, I don’t think my collection has very much value at all – true collectors want the entire box not just the pretty bit on the top. They are packed with interesting glimpses into the past, so they are valuable to me.

      Delete
  5. What a wonderful collection - and one that grows more interesting as the years pass. I doubt many corporate entities would want their brands on matches today. My favorite is the "Get Younger Every Day" series.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Helen, no I don’t think matchboxes would be an advertiser's first choice anymore. I like the “Get Younger” & the Cornish ones.

      Delete
  6. That's amazing, being able to find a wine theme in your matchbox covers. What a wonderful collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can’t imagine how that one came into my collection unless dad did buy a ‘job lot’ somewhere – but I’m glad it was there.

      Delete
  7. That is quite a collection. And another new name for an activity that I hadn't heard before. I used to collect milk bottle tops back when they had them. But I gave that up a long, long time ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kristin,
      I had forgotten about milk bottle tops, but yes, I used to collect those too!

      Delete
  8. Very impressive! Here in the states, I believe collectors of matchbooks are more common as they were printed in a million varieties. I've read that matchboxes were once assembled by women and children piece workers, then sold on the streets. The "little match girl" was a common symbol of urban poverty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mike, I think there were a fair number of collectors in the UK it’s just that I didn't know about them and somehow assumed I was doing something unique!

      Delete
  9. Oh my goodness.. I really loved this post. So many great pictures. I laughed when I saw the Barnados homes juxtaposed with the other matchbox picture. Hilarious. I reckon you put the emphasis on Lumen as in Loomen when you say Philumenist as opposed to pronouncing it like Alumni.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Alex, I really have no idea what I was thinking. Maybe I asked my dad for advice, and he suggested putting orphans and scantily dressed ladies together. He would have enjoyed the joke, even if I didn’t get it!

      Delete
  10. What a wonderful collection. I remember my grandfather always had the Captain Webb ones. It was much later that I found outr more about Capt Webb and his feats, immortalised in the John Betjeman poem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had very limited knowledge of Capt Webb but found an interesting biography on the Dawley Heritage website.
      http://www.dawleyheritage.co.uk/unpublished-articles/350/biography-of-capt-matthew-webb-by-m-peel

      Delete
  11. What a splendid collection, and a fine bit of history too. With smoking being banned in so many public places, and with Bic lighters being so readily available for smokers, I wonder if anybody bothers advertising on a matchbox anymore.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Wendy, we don’t use matches much these days, other than for lighting the odd candle but having just looked at the boxes none have adverts on. It is obviously a thing of the past, sad really.

      Delete
  12. Fantastic collection! Wonderful ephemera. I'm a wee bit jealous. Take good care of them. Perhaps scan all of them and self-publish a book about your collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great idea! Thanks for your visit, Barbara

      Delete
  13. Hello Barbara,
    If collecting matchbox labels makes you a Phillumenist what title does someone who collect bookmark get? Just wondered as I have some five hundred or so.
    A fascinating read and lovely photos of you and your parents.

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    Replies
    1. Hi John, I don’t have a clue and having just looked online I don’t think anyone else does either. The best the Oxford dictionary can come up with is ‘bookmark collector’ so I guess that is what you are.
      I’m glad you enjoyed the post and photos, thanks for commenting.

      Delete

I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara x

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