i-MatchBooks - History of MatchBooks

Although fire dates back to the beginning of man, the first actual sulfur tipped match was created in 1827 by an English druggist named John Walker. The original prototype at this time was dangerous because the matches would often explode. In 1889, Joshua Pusey, a Philadelphia lawer was credited with creating the first "matchbook". The original volatile formula for his match head was creating using a small wood stove, and the book was made from simple cardboard. He went on to parley the patent rights to the Diamond Match Company which cost him $4,000 in the year 1896. He called his invention "flexibles" and at the time there were either 20 or 50 sticks in a book.

The earliest known commercial matchbook advertising was in 1895 and was distributed by the Mendelson Opera Company. The advertisement from the one surviving example of this advertising pursuit was "A cyclone of fun - powerful caste - pretty girls - handsome ward-robe - get seats early." On the front was a photo of the star of this comic organization, by the name of Thomas Lowden, who was a trombonist. The opera purchased several boxes of blank matchbooks (estimate of 100) from the Diamond Match Company and the cast members would sit up late at night while pasting photos and writing clever slogans and phrases on the matchbooks, it was all done by hand. Each different cast member would design their own types of matchbooks to advertise with.

In Barberton, Ohio, the first Diamond Matchbook Company factory was made. In 1895 the matchbooks production figure clearly exceeded 150,000 matchbooks a day. The Diamond Matchbook Company's objective was to produce a quality matchbook which would be able to sell to the public. Diamond soon turned the matchbook division over to a highly motivated young salesman named Henry C. Traute. Traute's marketing genius and interest in the industry propelled him to the top of his trade. Traute began to target big business and started with the Pabst Brewery which ordered 10 million matchbooks. His biggest order came when he ventured into Wrigley's chewing gum whom placed an order of 1 billion matchbooks.

Throughout the 1920's, matchbooks quickly earned money for every industry and became the most popular form of advertising in America. Case after case, stories kept pouring it about how matchbooks helped even the smallest stores to advertise their business. Back then, a professionally printed case of 2,500 matchbooks would cost just under $5.00. In October of 1929, when advertising budgets began to dwindle down, the matchbook manufacturer's began to feel their business hurt as with the decline of sales they were receiving. In 1932, Diamond began to produce the first movie star set of matchbooks for the American market. These matchbooks quickly began to sell at all local Five 'n Dimes as collectible sets. Once again, Diamond pulled out of a hole. Diamond continued to release several other hundreds of sets to be made for collecting. Diamond went on to also manufacture collectible sets with not only movie stars, but professional sport teams and athletes. This new idea saved the matchbook industry. With new-life back into the match industry by the need of popular patriotic and military advertising, the Office of Price Administration insisted that a free book of matches accompany every pack of cigarettes. Free matchbooks became an instant mainstay.

Current day matchbook advertising is just as popular as it was back when it first began. On average, a case of matchbooks can run about $80 which is less than 2 cents per matchbook. You can see matchbooks in almost every restaurant, hotel, candle shop, pool hall, gas station, and smoke shops all over the United States. Matchbooks will continue to thrive in the advertising industry as one of the cheapest and most effective advertisements used.