1971 MARVA Club Matchbook

I came across these 1971 MARVA Matchbook Collectors' Club cover in a collection I recently purchased. The strikers have some damage, but I think I'll keep these.

Spotlight On: Gas Stations

Here's a few older gas station covers that I thought were interesting. First up on the left is a Match Corp. Of America cover. I'm not sure when exactly it's from, but I did figure out what Blue Sunoco was:

 In 1927 Sun Oil introduced its only grade of gasoline, calling it Blue Sunoco, "The High Powered Knockless Fuel at No Extra Price." Blue dye was used in the gasoline so that motorists could identify it by its color, through the glass of the 1920s gravity-flow gasoline pumps."

From http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/sunoco-inc-history/

The other covers aren't as interesting and not that long ago I would have put them on the freebie table at our MARVA meetings. However, I got to thinking about how much the level of service at gas stations has changed over the last 25 years. Try to find a station these days that still offers the wiper and fluid to clean your window by the gas pumps. They don't put them out anymore, at least in the NoVa and DC area. These days when the garage portion of gas stations are closed you mostly have a functioning cashier and little else. Here's my small thank you to the gas stations of the past.

Mr. Goodwrench and J.C. Whitney

Mr. Goodwrench sounds familiar doesn't it? I used to hear it on television ads all the time, then he / it just disappeared. According to a (paraphrased) 2010 Detroit News article:

"Goodwrench was created in the mid-1970's to promote GM's parts and service dealerships. GM dealers used Mr. Goodwrench to advertise maintenance and repairs for more than 30 years will be replaced with brand-specific labels such as Chevrolet Certified Service and Buick Certified Service. On February 1, 2011 Mr. Goodwrench will officially be phased out."

However, GM Goodwrench is still an auto repair service for GM products in Canada.

The second cover (which has seen some use) is an ad for the J.C. Whitney catalog, which sold auto accessories and parts. My father got this thick catalog in the mail frequently when I was a kid and only after he had perused its pages could I have it. I would engulf myself in daydreams of repairing a 1965 Mustang and rebuilding a Volkswagen beetle from affordable parts and accessories. The only thing more exciting than the new J.C. Whitney catalog was the Brigade Quartermaster catalog, full of waterproof duty boots, Rambo knives and collapsible buttstocks.

Chevrolet Dealerships

 These Chevrolet dealership covers from the late 1970's to mid 1980's are great in my opinion. Although they don't advertise a specific model and year, they are interesting. They evoke the feeling of a period in time when Americans were proud to buy affordable American built automobiles. The cover on the far right, advertising Chevrolet's 75th anniversary was from 1986.

My grandfather, a true Chevrolet man, once even went back to the dealership to buy back a Chevy he had traded in earlier that month.

Interesting Covers

Here's a few interesting covers I got at the Southern Swapfest:

The first one of the left has a smiling rabbit dressed as Napoleon. A tag next to him says "Act Normal - Be Crazy". On the back it describes how you can be popular and have fun with this Rabbit Foot Luck Charm with Mailing Tag and Key Chain.Send 10¢ to Charles Brand for yours. I had one of these as a kid, given to me by my father. I'm pretty sure mine was part of a real rabbit at one point. When I prodded him about how could it be a real rabbit foot, he'd tell me "It's real, alright. There's a three legged rabbit running around out there somewhere." I still have that rabbits' foot, but never did see a single rabbit running around with three legs.

The second one is a 1920's Lion Match cover for F.A. Whitney Carriage Co. The most complete line of baby carriages, children's go-carts in the world! It's an old cover and pretty strange to boot. I don't know whether the photo noted as H-R-H The BOSS is a doll or a real kid, but it gives me the creeps nonetheless.

The last cover has no manumark, but looks older and has a tall striker. On this cover for Chandu's you've got a swami holding a crystal ball of sorts. Apparently I had two of these covers, one with no info on what Chandu's was on the front or the back, then I found this one that has info: Chandu's was a Buffalo, NY restaurant that served American Food and Princely Dishes of India. Mystery solved.

Interesting Matchcovers: April 2013

I picked up about 1500 matchcovers this weekend and looked through them. Here's a sample of some of the interesting covers I found:

I found quite a few of these, called Miown Decorative Matchpacks. I don't know much about them except they were made by Colgate Studios and they say Diamond Quality on back. The patent date on the bottom says 3 - 31 - 1926. 

I almost tossed this one into a box for the MARVA freebie tables, then picked it back up. I hadn't noticed that it was Big Boy cover. It's the only Big Boy cover I've seen without the big boy character. Manner's Big Boy I believe was popular in Cleveland and Cincinatti, Ohio.

Men's clothing is one of my favorite categories to collect. From left to right: An unstruck Dubbleware Union Made Work Clothes cover. An unstruck cover for Long's Men's Shop in Massachusetts advertising TexTan belts and billfolds. This is a company I hadn't heard of and I think the first cover I've seen to advertise specifically for belts and billfods. Last, a struck and worn Stetson Hats cover from Philadelphia. It has a nice illustration of some cowboys and will fit nicely in my collection.

The first cover in this group is an ad for Conti Liquid Shave. It's an older Lion Match cover and is longer than normal. Of interest is the manumark which reads: U.S. Pat. No. 1,735,258. Patented in Canada 1929 -- The first part of an older Lion Match Co. manumark. The second line reads: Lion Match Co., N.Y. Made in U.S.A. An earlier version of the second line reads: Lion Match Co. New York.(from http://www.matchcovers.com/glossary_U.htm ) Next up is a Burma-Shave cover. It advertises its namesake brand shaving cream and Burma-Shave brand razor blades. The first Burma-Shave cover I've ever seen. It's struck but in decent shape otherwise. Last we have a RET cover. RET was a product used to clean dentures and removable bridges, much like modern Polident.

You don't find these much anymore, so even though it's rather plain and beat up, I'll add this to my collection of King Midas Match Co covers.

I have kept a few fur related covers in my collection based on typography and color, but I generally don't keep them as I don't believe in furs and particularly the fur industry. However, this 1955 cover for Samuel Rifkin Furs caught my eye. These matchbooks came with a small swatch of fur, possibly mink, stapled on them.

Here are two movie theatre covers, both struck and a little worn, but interesting nonetheless. The first is an ad for State Theatre, no address or state given. The second and more interesting one is an older Lion Match cover from New York City's Yiddish Art Theatre and advertises a film called Brother Ashkenzi. Read more on the movie here. I'm guessing this cover is from the late 1930's as the book the movie was made from came out in 1936.

Here's a great, unstruck, Diamond Match cover advertising R.C. Allen Figuring Machines, based in San Francisco. Figuring machines made by this company included adding machines, cash registers and calculators. Next is an ad for Utilite, the 30 minute utility light. We've all seen the newer, blue cover advertising these on the freebie tables. This one is much older and probably won't be found on the freebie tables. I'm not sure of the age, but it's an older Universal cover. Notice how much longer it is than the Diamond next to it.

First up is a nice WWII era cover for Foreman Phillips' County Barn Dance which hosted the "nation's greatest western dance bands". According to a 1989 article from The Daily Breeze about the establishment "Swing-shift workers during World War II often gathered all night on the Venice pier." I bet they did, too. The cover states that you can "dance all nite Saturday 8:30 PM till dawn". I'd bet money that Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys played there. The second cover, a WWII era cover for the Rialto Ballroom in New York City is struck, but is still quite nice. The Rialto claimed 3 orchestras, continuous dancing and a victory bar. I can't even imagine what a Saturday night in either of these two places could have been like.

Photos from the 2013 Southern Swapfest

Gayle Hofacker has added new photos from the 2013 Southern Swapfest. Thanks Gayle!
http://www.southernswapfest.com/Pages/MOREPHOTOS.aspx

Downloadable Book: Illegal Gambling Matchbooks

I highly suggest heading over to CHIPSTER and download the 2012 edition of Edward Hertel's Illegal Gambling Matchbooks. According to the site, the book is "intended to be an aide researching illegal clubs using information from matchbooks." The guide includes over 570 matchbooks from 34 states.

120 Pages. Free to download.

http://chipster.net/matchbook.html

Article: Matchbooks Memories

A great article entitled Matchbook Memories. Read the full article here: http://apple.copydesk.org/2013/01/11/old-matchbook-collections-make-for-a-striking-features-page/

From the "Lighten Up" Department...

"They are indeed dangerous. Perhaps we can get some laws passed banning the possession, transportation and sale of matches. In the meantime some enterprising lawyers could sue the establishments that make these articles available to the innocent public. Who knows how many lives could be saved!"

-Comment from an October 2009 New York Times article on matches

Read the full article and comments, which features NC collector Bill Retskin, here: http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/dining/21match.html

Chocolate Skateboards Matchbook Series Decks

Chocolate Skateboards has released a new line of pro series skateboard decks that feature matchbook graphics.I bet you can guess where some of these designs originated.

You can read the article about them here: http://livingproofmag.com/2010/08/chocolate-skateboards-matchbook-series-decks/

Jack and Warren Barnes: The Matchcover Guy

A few weeks ago in Florida I had the pleasure of speaking to Jack Barnes at dinner. An all-around great guy and a huge fan of matchcovers. Head on over to his website, The Matchcover Guy for lots of great info and photos of his collection. It's a great site run by his son Warren that has tons of neat stuff there.