A regional club serving greater New York City and adjacent areas. Meetings are held the 1st Sunday of every other month, except in summer. Dues: $5.00 US and 6.00 US for International members; five bulletins annually. Holiday party; Official sponsor of the 1995 RMS convention.

Webmaster's Ramblings:

About the kindness of others...  I have been in this club only a few months, and I am amazed how many acts of kindness I have witnessed.  (Read on)

When I return home from work at the end of the day, I usually hit the mailbox. On 3 occasions, I was pleasantly surprised not to just find the plethora of bills, I found letters from fellow members. The letters not only contained welcomes, and praise for the new web site, but the gift of matchcovers. Go figure... For the first time, it is not money that puts a smile on my face, but small pieces of printed cardboard. As we all know my collection is quite miniscule in comparison to you "heavy hitters", but you all have my word, as I travel around the globe I will not forget those that brought a smile to my face. I am a man of few words, but "Thank you all, my new found friends"...

Phillumenism? My response to Ed was "I think I had a pain there just last week"

I joined this club, simply because one day I overheard one of my dear colleagues "Ed" talking about it while on a smoke break. So being the inquisitive one with a rused curiosity, I decided to ask questions about it. It never really occurred to me to start collecting before this, even though I used to bring back covers from where ever my travels brought me "for Ed".

I never knew how very passionate about match covers Ed really was "I thought he just collected matchbooks". How grossly wrong I was,  and now it is almost like he has taken me under his wing as his apprentice.

Every day Ed brings me another surprise, and it usually requires me to pull up a chair. He explains about the different covers with such feeling, it makes you want to collect.  Thanks Ed...

So...  "Why do you collect stupid matchbooks" you say?

Not that anyone realizes, but being a smoker, did you ever try to find a match?  They are getting harder, and harder to find daily.

So, since matchbooks are often covered with advertising logos or various artistic accoutrements, they have served as collector's items and free souvenirs. Manufacturing of matchbooks peaked during the 1940s and 50s, then steadily declined because of the availability of disposable lighters and various anti-smoking health campaigns.

In 1973, a federal mandate in the U.S. required the striking surface to be moved to the back of the package. (These are referred to as "back strikers" or "reverse strikers", while pre-1973 covers are called "front strikers".)

Although paper matches were patented in the 1880's, an early paper match "folder" was patented in September 1892 by Philadelphia patent attorney American Joshua Pusey, however the matchbook as we know it was patented a few weeks later by Charles Bowman of Lebanon, PA. Pusey challenged Bowman's patent, but Bowman's patent was upheld. Pusey sold his patent to the Diamond Match Trust in 1896 and then served as the company's patent attorney. Bowman's company, the American Safety Head Match Company of Lebanon, PA didn't last long, and Diamond Match Co. adapted his design into their product, becoming the first mass-producer of paper matchbooks.

Collectors distinguish between matchbooks and matchcovers. A matchbook holds the matches - take the match sticks out and flatten the cardboard and you have a matchcover. Collecting of match-related items is called phillumenism.