Japanese Matchbox LabelsDon’t ask me why
collecting matchbox labels
is called “phillumeny.” It is
not in most dictionaries yet,
but just type the word into
an Internet search engine,
and entries abound with
phillumeny Web sites
replete with colorful
matchbox labels assembled
by presumably obsessive
phillumenists.
Personally, I do
not fit this obsessive profile. However, I do admit to collecting my fair
share of these so-called light boxes for their exquisite craft and artistry, as
well their particular wit and beauty. And I suspect that these are some
reasons why they are so popular among the truly avid collectors. But the
other reason people are obsessive about collecting them, I suspect, is that so
many were produced over the span of almost two centuries—in more than
a score of nations, which resulted in an extraordinary variety of designs—
that the utter quantity gives the genre incredible allure. Of all the minor
popular arts, matchbox-label design was certainly one of the most major.
And out of all the countries that produced matchboxes, the Japanese were
at the top of the form.
Modern matchbox labels follow the invention of the safety match,
in 1844 , when Swedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch developed a
phosphorous compound that was stable but would combust when friction
was applied on contact. The first matchboxes were designed with a small
strip of striking material on its narrow side. Pasted on the wider top was a
relatively intricate woodblock design, or an illustration printed with the
brand name and reference to the country of origin (e.g., “Made in Japan”).
Matches became profitable export businesses for Sweden, Thailand, Russia,
Italy, and Japan, to name a few, as each produced its own graphics, which
were both unique and universal.
During the early twentieth century, matchbox art from around the
world began to share many of the same graphic conceits, among them394