For the past week, I've been visiting some friends in North Carolina. I was helping them sort through some of their stuff, as they were in the process of moving to a new apartment. We came across a small collection of old matchbooks. They originally belonged to the now deceased father of my friend Vic's college roommate.
These matchbooks are a window into the past. They're a snapshot of an earlier time where I assume smoking was more common and less stigmatized. Matchbooks were used for advertisement for a variety of businesses and even some politicians. Many would even turn into mail-order coupons after the matches were used.
They are so fascinating and unique, I decided to save them to the blockchain for posterity.
Hunt's advertised a variety of their food:
Sherrifs advertised their campaigns:
Even banks printed matchbooks to draw business:
And of course, hotels and inns:
The most surprising and interesting ones were advertising jobs or money making opportunities:
All sorts of products used to be advertised on matchbooks:
One practice that is still fairly common today is restaurants with their own custom matchbooks:
And well... why did most people want match books in the first place? To smoke of course!
I hope some of you found these as interesting as I did. These days, internet marketing and television ads are far more effective forms of advertising. Matchbook advertising is a relic of history by now, but hopefully it won't be forgotten.