Buick sponsored the radio broadcast of the Joe Lewis vs. Max Schmeling heavyweight championship boxing match on June 18, 1936. This matchbook promoting the fight sold at auction for $25 in 2005. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Clars Auction Gallery WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) – Paul Vigneault is not, and has never been, a smoker.
So, it would be logical to think there are not many, if any, matchbooks squirreled away in his kitchen drawer. Well, maybe one or two to fire up the barbecue grill for a couple of steaks or to light a candle during a blackout.
Not so.
Walk into his modest Cape-style home and you’ll find them everywhere.
They hang in neatly framed displays on the walls of almost every room, and they meticulously sit in dust-free arrangements on pieces of furniture.
There are also about 5,000 of them jammed into large paper leaf collection bags in the basement.
“What can I say? I’m a collector,” the 65-year-old retiree said.
And matchbooks aren’t the only things Vigneault collects. The former Kom Tek Inc. employee has doll, baseball card, stamp, coin, magazine, die-cast car, movie memorabilia and other collections.
“I like to collect a lot of things, but I’d say matchbooks are my favorite,” he said.
The matchbook, or matchbook cover, was patented in the 1890s by John Pusey, a Pennsylvania lawyer. It was a tremendous advertising and marketing tool, especially used by hotels, restaurants and bars. Historically, matchbooks reflected the artistic and cultural sensibilities of the day, and many people soon began collecting them.
There are collecting clubs around the country and the hobby is popular enough to sustain websites, magazines and other periodicals for interested individuals.
The Boston Public Library even has a collection that features matchbooks from Hub hotels.
Matchbooks were produced in tremendous quantities until the introduction of inexpensive, disposable lighters. The demand dipped further in the 1960s, as more people stopped smoking because of health concerns.
Vigneault said he began collecting matchbooks when he was about 19 years old. He was walking down a street in Main South – the neighborhood he grew up in – when he spotted an unusual one discarded in the roadway. Vigneault said he doesn’t remember what particularly struck him about the matchbook, but he took it home and showed it to his mother, Rita Vigneault, who encouraged him to begin collecting them.
Some of his sets have won prizes at conventions. His favorites include a series on the 1964-65 World Fair in New York City, and a rare collection of Navy, Army and Marine Corps matchbooks issued at the close of World War II.
Vigneault said he picks up his collectibles at yard and estate sales, secondhand stores and conventions, among other places.
Some people who know about his collection very often send him matchbooks. During a recent visit by a Telegram & Gazette reporter, Vigneault received in the mail some matchbooks recently issued by a Las Vegas hotel.
“Well, will you look at these,” he said, while going through the envelope.
Vigneault said he used to inventory his treasures, but stopped doing so years ago.
“That’s not to say that I don’t know where everything is,” he added, with a chuckle.
After years of collecting, he said, he’s beginning to give away some of his cherished possessions.
“It’s time. I’m not getting any younger,” he said.
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Information from: http://www.telegram.com/
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-ES-03-27-11 0004EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Buick sponsored the radio broadcast of the Joe Lewis vs. Max Schmeling heavyweight championship boxing match on June 18, 1936. This matchbook promoting the fight sold at auction for $25 in 2005. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Clars Auction Gallery
Find a way to get your drink from this jug with cutouts. It is an 18th-century English Delft mug about 7 inches tall that’s decorated with piercings and an appropriate rhyme. It sold for $2,938 last year at Garth’s Auctions in Delaware, Ohio.
April Fool’s Day is “celebrated” in most countries today, but historians don’t know where or how it began. Remember switching sugar and salt to fool your family? Or calling the drugstore to ask if they had “Prince Albert in the can”? “Yes?” “Well, let him out” was the hilarious answer used by kids on April 1. (Prince Albert was a popular tobacco brand.) And, of course, you had to be careful what you believed that day — newspapers and radio and TV news shows all liked to plant fake stories. Our ancestors played jokes all year long. One famous 18th-century joke was the puzzle jug, usually found in a pub. It was a mug or pitcher with a handle, but the top half of the mug was pierced. If you drank from it, the liquid dribbled out of the holes onto your shirt. Those “in the know” could empty the mug without spilling a drop. The mug had a rounded rim that was actually a hollow tube that led into the hollow handle and to the inside of the mug. Just suck on the spout in the rim and you could get a drink. Some mugs were more complicated and had several spouts in the rim, so you had to know which ones to block with your finger. If the holes were left open, no liquid came through the “straw.” This type of puzzle mug is still being made to play a trick on April Fool’s Day or at a drinking party at any time.
Q: I read somewhere that some phonograph records were made of chocolate candy and could actually be played on a phonograph. Is this true?
A: Stollwerck, a German chocolate manufacturer, made chocolate disc records and a phonograph that played them. Franz Stollwerck (1815-1876) founded the company in Cologne, Germany, in 1839. Its first products were cough drops. In 1860 the firm’s product line was expanded to include chocolate, gingerbread and marzipan. In 1903 Stollwerck made chocolate records that could play music on an 8 1/2-inch horn phonograph operated by a clock motor. The records were 3 inches in diameter. The phonographs broke easily and their sound quality was not good, but at least the records were edible. The phonographs and records are collectible today, but not many survived. Even advertising material related to them is hard to find. The company is still in business making chocolate. A sad note: One of Stollwerck’s sons died when a steam-operated chocolate blending machine he was working on exploded and he drowned in a vat of chocolate.
Q: I collect opera glasses. Most of the vintage ones I see are made with mother-of-pearl. What else should I look for?
A: Opera glasses date back to the 1700s, when they were just a single eyepiece. The first binoculars, two cylinder-shaped parts with a lens in each, were made in about 1825. A piece connected the cylinders so they could comfortably sit on the nose. The focusing wheel was used even then. By the 19th century, opera glasses were made with enameled decoration, gold, gemstones and more. They were made to be seen by others at the opera while helping the owner see the opera. Makers in the United States, France, Austria and Russia made beautiful opera glasses that can be found at shows and auctions today. They are still being made.
Q: I have an old postcard that has a drawing of a man carrying a grandfather clock into a pawnshop. There are three balls hanging outside the shop. Aren’t they the symbol of a pawnshop? How did that start?
A: There are several stories connected with the pawnbrokers’ symbol. The three hanging balls were first used during the Middle Ages to symbolize money or wealth and may have represented coins. Most think it was a symbol used by the Medici, a wealthy family in Florence, Italy. The Medici family, which included merchants, bankers, popes and politicians, established the Medici Bank, one of the most important financial institutions in Europe, in the 15th century. Some say that merchants in Lombard, Italy, hung balls in front of their houses. The custom of using three balls in front of pawnshops began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe and eventually to the United States. Although the symbol is no longer common in the United States, it is still used in England. Different symbols are used for pawnshops in Asian countries. The number 7 with a circle around it is used in Japan. A bat, the symbol for fortune, holding a coin is used in Hong Kong.
Q: I own a three-part liquor bottle held together by a sterling silver band at the bottom and another at the top. Three other bands run down the sides to cover the glass dividers, and there are three stoppers. The silver holder is marked “Reed & Barton,” but I have no idea when the piece was made or what it was used for. Can you help?
A: Reed & Barton, still in business in Taunton, Mass., traces its history back to 1824. It didn’t start manufacturing sterling silver items until 1889. Bottles like yours, however, were not popular until the 1950s. Each of the three bottles held a liqueur of a different color, usually green creme de menthe and two others, making the bottle an attractive and useful addition to any bar.
Tip: Don’t move a bed all by yourself unless the bed is on wheels. You may cause stress on one of the bed’s joints and break it. Of course, you could also stress your own joints.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
Take advantage of a free listing for your group to announce events or to find antique shows and other events. Go to Kovels.com/calendar to find and plan your antiquing trips.
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Sweater girl’s bullet-torpedo bra, white on white, elastic band, three rows of hooks, Style 573, Romance by Formfit Rogers, circa 1959, size 34 D, $30.
Coca-Cola playing cards, image of woman wearing orange scarf around neck, bottle of Coke in front, unopened, circa 1941, 3 5/8 x 2 3/8 inches, $75.
Salt and pepper shakers, black mammy and chef, California Pottery, Brayton-Laguna, 1940s, 5 1/2 inches, $125.
Toast-o-Lator toaster, Bakelite base and knobs, cloth cord, slot on each end, Wind-o-Spy for watching bread move along and toast, late 1940s, 9 x 12 inches, $175.
Madame Alexander Polly Pigtails doll, hard plastic, light brown braids, blue sleep eyes, closed mouth, green cotton print dress, 1949, 14 inches, $220.
Star of Texas quilt, blue, pink, rose, white and yellow star center, solid blue backing, dated 1945, 64 x 82 inches, $295.
Gadget walking stick, gold top flips open to expose a match-safe and candle, early 1900s, 34 1/2 inches, $315.
Galle glass rose bowl, clear with vertically ribbed body and ruffled rim, heavy enamel stylized flowers, stems & leaves in brick red, white, blue & green, signed, 5 x 6 inches, $1,035.
Queen Anne highboy, maple, stepped molded cornice with concealed map drawer, two over three graduated drawers, arched skirt, cabriole legs, pad feet, Massachusetts, 1700s, 65 x 39 inches, $3,075.
Elephant mechanical bank, lead, embossed animals, when dial points to 10 o’clock elephant steps back to expose slot, Charles Bailey, 5 inches, $3,505.
Just published! The best book to own if you want to buy or sell or collect. The new Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, 2011, 43rd edition, is your most accurate source for current prices. This large-size paperback has more than 2,600 color photographs and 42,000 up-to-date prices for more than 775 categories of antiques and collectibles. You’ll also find hundreds of factory histories and marks and a report on the record prices of the year, plus helpful sidebars and tips about buying, selling, collecting and preserving your treasures. Available online at Kovelsonlinestore.com; by phone at 800-303-1996; at your bookstore; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
