Match

Object Name:

Match

Object ID:

1972.510

Creator:

Thayer, Stephen (1803-1890)Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

New Ipswich, NH

Date:

circa 1850

Description:

Matches in tin box. Matches, medium brown, unknown wood type. Assortment inside box in various formations, broken apart or in small clusters. A typical pattern is two-matches thick and several matches wide. A sample cluster of eight matches measures 2" long, 0.5" wide, 0.2" thick. These are of one piece of wood that is partially split with slots ~1" long. It looks like heads are flat. The splitting process has caused bodies to have spaces between them at top ends which have been dipped into off-white chemical which has coated sides of sticks and left small droplet on top, flat ends. Coating length is ~0.5". Some clusters of matches that have slightly longer coated area. Some other matches that are of slightly darker wood. Some of these darker ones have a cloth glued to the bottom ends of clusters. This is a loosely-woven fine weave of whitish fibers. 60-75 matches. In general their dimensions are equal. Biggest variation is in the length of white coated material on shafts of matches.
Tin-plated sheet iron box with shallow flat lid with turned-over edges and clipped corners. Body rectangular piece sheet metal formed into square with soldered common edge at one corner. Shallow ridge around and just below top edge. Body fits into another cover-like piece to which is has been soldered. Cloth label on cover with six lines of typed text: "Original matchbox / sandpaper, & matches / made by Stephen Thayer / in New Ipswich, N.H. / Gift of Arthur Wheeler / Concord, N. H.6/3/1943". Sandpaper inside, mostly off-white with several dark marks and rough surface. Is quite stiff for paper.

Material:

Metal
Wood
Tin

Dimensions:

W-0.5 L-2 D-0.2 inches

Provenance:

Stephen Thayer (1803-1890) settled in New Ipswich in 1823. Thayer was a merchant and manufacurer of cigars, matches, ink, lumber and baked goods. The matches and box were given to the Society by Arthur F. Wheeler, 200 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH, on June 3, 1943.

Credit Line:

Gift of Arthur F. Wheeler

People:

Thayer, Stephen (1803-1890), Wheeler, Arthur F. (1879-1951)