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/
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AP-ES-03-27-11 0004EDT
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