More matchbook styles and a full vocabulary list of collector terms can be found at matchpro.org.
Front strike matchbooks
Prior to 1973, the majority of matchbooks were made with the striker — that brown or black strip used to light the matches — on the the front flap where the matchbook typically closes (now located on the back thanks to a federal regulation). Phillumenists, the word for matchbook collectors like Lund, often look for this rarer style of matchbook for their collection.
Laura Kwan-Rosenbush deeply believes in the marketing power of a matchbook. “There is such a legacy in restaurant matchbooks," says Kwan-Rosenbush, director of marketing and communications at Back of the House, Inc., the group behind San Francisco restaurants Super Duper, Beretta, Tailor’s Son, and the recently-opened Corzetti. "I think having that very clear takeaway piece to remind guests about their experience, from my standpoint, is just really fun and important. As a collector myself, I love looking back on places through the matchbooks.”
In a brand refresh for Tailor’s Son, Kwan-Rosenbush thought it would be a perfect match (no pun intended) to work with New Jersey-based boutique matchbook maker the Match Group to bring a design to reality. The logo for Tailor’s Son — a charming, retro cartoon drawing of a man eating spaghetti, or, sometimes, drinking a martini — hearkens back to the original logo for owner Adriano Paganini’s parent’s tailor shop. The design now lives as a cartoon that spans the face of the restaurant’s matchbooks, separating into individual matches with a drawing on each stick, a whimsical detail.
Foreign Cinema co-owner and chef Gayle Pirie is also keeping the matchbook flames burning. Her restaurant continues to print matchbooks, and also collects vintage matchbooks. “They possess a penultimate design element in small form,” Pirie says. The restaurant’s matchbook is a callout for the movies Foreign Cinema is known for showing in their courtyard. It currently features artistic renditions of classic film stills on the cover. “They are romantic,” Pirie says, “and our design reflects our commitment to love, and iconic film presence celebrating Fellini and his film, Roma.”
While some diners may save a menu or a coaster for sentimentality, Kwan-Rosenbush looks at matchbooks as a much more useful sort of restaurant memento. “For me, I think pens and matchbooks are two things anybody can use,” she says. “Even though there's that connotation with smoking, I use mine to light candles. They're very handy.”
(left) Assorted Matchbooks
(Right) Round House Restaurant
Matchbooks for Back of the House, Inc. restaurants the Tailor’s Son and Corzetti, and Mission District restaurant Foreign Cinema.
A vintage matchbook of Round House Restaurant at the Golden Gate Bridge (now a location of Equator Coffee).
Writer
Dianne de Guzman
Creative Director
Nat Belkov
Art Director
Marcello Bevilacqua
Editors
Brenna Houck, Lauren Saria
Copy Editor
Amanda Luansing
“There is such
a legacy in restaurant matchbooks.”
Laura Kwan-Rosenbush, director of marketing and communications at Back of the House, Inc.
“I think having
that very clear takeaway piece to remind guests about their experience is just really fun and important.”
Laura Kwan-Rosenbush
Special thanks to
Nadia Q. Ahmad, Stephanie Wu
Full-length matchbooks
Diamond Quality matchbooks
Odd-striker matchbooks
Full-length matchbooks feature one art piece that runs the length of the matchbook itself, with a design that orients either vertically or horizontally, on the inside or outside of the matchbook.
Produced by Diamond Match Co. until 1938, these matchbooks are highly sought after and are identified by the “Diamond Quality” designation on the matchbook. They are referred to as “DQ’s” in the collecting world.
Odd-striker matchbooks are exactly that — strikers which are placed in “odd” locations or in any different format other than the typical stripe on the front or back of matchbooks. A popular example is this patriotic World War II matchbook, with the striker located on the seat of Hitler’s pants.
Web Designer
Marcello Bevilacqua
More matchbook styles and a full vocabulary list of collector terms can be found at matchpro.org.
Nadia Q. Ahmad
Stephanie Wu
Matchbook photography provided by
Greg Lund
Matchbook photography provided by
Greg Lund
Illustrator
Niccolo Pizarro
Illustrator
Niccolo
Pizarro