A Good Match

Posted on by Prior...

When I first heard the topic of a “good match” for the weekly photo challenge this week (here), I instantly thought of real matches.

We still have a small plastic bin with matches in there.  Some were given to us by my MIL, but many were from our own collecting.

It feels like not so long ago (mid 1990s) when establishments gave out free packs of matches.

Do you remember that? And not all places had the same quality of matches – and so a good match was sometimes hard to find.

matches

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This pack of matches is so old that the phone number does not even have an area code.

 

oh – and speaking of matches – Mike Bell makes match book art that is very skilled:

mike-bell-art

And this blog has some fun art made with wooden matches (for day #91 of the 365 Days of Art) and here is a sample:

match-art

 

Ok – after this post I have my “2016 street shots” post and then Priorhouse will be on spring break for a while… (time to get caught up on some various projects)…..

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31 thoughts on “A Good Match”

    1. Dawn, great post you had there…..
      thanks for linking it…. and that video of the match collector guy was really good.
      also – the Porterhouse restaurant is smart to start giving out matches again as a way to “remind folks of their visit”

      Liked by 1 person

  4. My father collected match books from around the world and now I have no idea where they are or which family member has them – this post has inspired me to find out 🙂

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  6. I still remember having matches around my house. These days, its the electric lighter and gas stove if we need a flame. But, I still like the feeling of using arm power to light up a wooden match 😂 Happy Spring break, Y. Good luck with those projects and looking forward to hearing more soon 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. thanks Mabel and I like the way you mention the arm power….
      so true –
      and I recall getting “bad”matches – cheap ones that did not light…. and the wooden ones were always best – and good for starting a fire

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      1. When I was a kid, one time I tried to strike five matches in a row and just couldn’t get a fire. And I threw down each match after one strike, lol. I always was never able to light the candles on my birthday cake myself back then, lol 😀

        Liked by 2 people

  7. Wow!! You still have a container full of old books of matches!! You are so right about all matches not being created equally. We would get excited when we would find a box of wooden matches. They’re still my favourite.

    We used to have a large dish of matches we picked up from our various travels. When non-smoking legislation came in, the matches dried up at every hotel and restaurant. Now we don’t have a single one left from the ‘old days’ … now I have to buy matches. Wooden ones, of course 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi – yes – I recall when upscale places had those nice wooden boxes to send us off with… and for some reason I completely missed whenever it was that establishments stopped offering them….but do recall late 80s and 1990s seeing them everywhere…

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    1. thanks Amy – and I just referred to you again when discussing a blog pause with someone…. how you remind folks the Internet will always be there for us upon return (something like that)= and I took last March off as well…. so it just felt like the right time to break for a few reasons… be by later – xxoo

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Pingback: A Good Match: Desolate Fog | What's (in) the picture?

  11. A unique take on the prompt Y! And didnt know anybody collected matches but quite the collection you have. And that match tree is amazing – is it glued together or resting on top of each other? Have a great day 🙂

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    1. thanks daw D – our collections has dwindled down – one year I threw most away and kept a baggie full. I wish I could have grabbed a photo of the ones I tossed….
      and after this post I am realizing that a lot of folks have matchbook collections…

      hm

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Love that match tree photo! The other week I was looking for a way to light a candle for the hearth and found a little match book that dated all the way back to my last trip to Italy! X

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I loved this Beautiful post. I have only two of my step grandmother’s matchbook albums left. I sold them and sometimes the antique shop man would mail off one legendary match book cover and get a great price. He received the bulk of it while scouring the internet and my books I left with him. (He was a retired sports car mechanic. I was a nearly penniless single woman about eleven years ago.) A friend, husband of a friend. I kept the state of Ohio match books and a pretty one of distant lands. I loved my own collection but hers was fantastic!
    The art on matchbooks was very cool!

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    1. thanks!
      oh wow – that is some story and thanks for sharing – that was nice of you to give to him.
      I wish I would have saved more of the ones we had. I literally dumped them = grabbed a random handful to keep and never thought about it. But I wonder what other memories would have been in there.
      and I am curious as yo what a match book album would look like,
      and your step-gm must have liked them a lot to make albums.
      maybe you could share a photo sometime 🙂

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      1. So funny, I found a Kahiki wooden match box in a drawer with only two matches left! A guy I date said, “Wow!” A local wonderful restaurant. . . gone but frozen food line still producing revenue.
        I will try to remember which box they are in. I remember the railroad match books and boxes brought this man quite a bit ($10 for one) but you had to troll thru contacts on Craig’s lists and pay postage. He paid me twenty dollars an album. No one at garage sale would pay much. It took this retired man awhile to get this and sometimes I just thank goodness I met him because he was honest and would show me the highest prices. Dolls my Mom bought for quite a lot didn’t make anything! Such a shame! One guy came to my Mom’s (and Dad’s) lake cottage and paid $200 for 100 Ashton Drake dolls! My SIL and I each took a Kate Middleton doll who was worth more than Princess Diana. I will keep this in mind for a post! Thanks for “listening!”

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        1. wow – a kate middleton doll?

          and cool story about the Kahiki matches and how that place is now closed (but still producing a frozen line.

          here in our town, we have a grocery chain called UKROPS that shut down many years ago – but they still make their baked good and some cold items. and whenever someone brings a UKROPS cake to a cookout or party – it is always something that gets folks talking about the store – and their amazing cakes. Sometimes I see their old cloth bags and coffee mugs in use – but never any matches.

          anyhow, you need to save those two matches!

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