They serve as evidence that you too were there and it was a good time. Matchbooks create a through-line, from our present experience to the experiences others have shared within the same bar or restaurant, hotel, or club. And, like any good memento, they help impart a sense of connection to others. They are a physical token of a shared experience happening at a specific time and place. Matchbooks remain a perfect souvenir for an extraordinary meal or a memorable night out. And it’s in part this heady collision of old and new that makes them so compelling. Just because we all vape now doesn’t make a good set of matches any less vital an expression of hospitality. Yet, its relevance in contemporary food and drink culture is undeniable. Its utility harkens back to a previous era when everyone smoked indoors. In my experience, one of the easiest ways to help a chef or owner visualize a potential new logo is to show them what it looks like on a matchbook. I've made my career as a brand designer and have had the opportunity to work on a number of restaurant projects over the years. Walk into any good restaurant or bar today and chances are still high that you will find a dish on the maître d’ stand or a glass behind the bar filled with custom matchbooks. Though production has been in decline for the past 30 years, matchbooks remain an enduring artifact within the world of hospitality. However, by the mid-1980's the American match industry had collapsed due in part to the decline in smoking rates and the introduction of cheap, disposable lighters. At one point 35 billion matchbooks were being manufactured in a year. And, production remained strong for the next few decades. smoking rates, which hit their peak in 1954. This just so happens to track closely with U.S. The industry reached a crescendo by the 1950's. Soon every bar, restaurant, hotel, and nightclub had a custom matchbook. The hospitality industry, for their part, saw the potential in this new type of advertising platform and bought in big. Pusey was an avid cigar smoker and found these matches cumbersome to carry around, so he set about developing a lightweight style bound in a paper book which he called the "Flexible Match." "Safety" matches, made with amorphous (red) phosphorus, had been in use for a few decades, but they were large and came in wooden boxes. The first strike-able paper book of matches was patented in 1892 by Joshua Pusey, a Philadelphia patent lawyer, and inventor. I’m talking, of course, about the printed matchbook. Bars and restaurants are feeling more alive than they have in a year and a half, which gives me an excuse to talk about one of my all-time favorite objects of design-one of the greatest promotional items ever created-and as far as I'm concerned, a mandatory detail in any reputable bar, restaurant, or hotel. It’s summer in NYC and outdoor dining has entered its third wave. He is a friend of WITI and finally decided to get in the game with his first post.Įlliott here.
Elliott Walker (EDW) is a creative director and co-founder of Otherward, a brand design agency in New York.
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