You are bidding on a classic dollhouse or room box framed artwork, perfect for the 1:12 scale miniature setting.
The image is "MONKEY". It is an original (not a reproduction), antique/vintage Matchbox Art Label dating from the early 1900’s. Made in India, these labels have strong bold retro graphics, rich, deep color and a unique graphic design.
Unlike modern, computer generated images, these label are miniature works of art, with a patina and richness that only comes with being in existence for over 100 years. The condition of the label is Excellent and it is framed in a contemporary frame "antiqued" to present of the era.
(Please note: decorative items and easel not included presented for scale and context, picture permanently adhered to frame)
Frame: Vintage frame, finished in a painted gold patina
Dimensions: The outside dimensions are 1 1/4" by 1 1/2", approximately.
Please, Please, Please, email any questions. This is an adult collectible, not a toy.
Will combine shipping, please ask for a total invoice BEFORE YOU PAY.
Read below if you would like to learn a little about matchbox art….
They’re a graphic designer’s dream with their unique petite format, versatility and evocations of romantic nostalgia. They're also a small wonder when you consider it took man nearly a million years to create a portable form of fire. Finally, they serve as a remarkable historical artifact of the evolution of communications in the modern age and a serious dose of graphic design inspiration. Maybe you'll discover that you are yourself a phillumenist, deep inside.
A quick history of matchboxes
Remarkably, it took us a million years from
discovering fire to finding an easy, portable way to generate it. Though there
are indications that a match-like contraption might have been used in China in
the 6th century, the first modern self-lighting match wasn’t invented until
1805, by Jean Chancel, a professor’s assistant in Paris.
Over the next half-century, a series of incremental improvements were made to the technology of matches, which eventually led to the invention of the safety match around 1850. That first safety match largely resembles what we can commonly find today.
The invention of the safety match, somewhere between 1845 and 1855, marks the birth of the matchbox as we know it. The match needed to be struck against the box to ignite, which meant that the packaging became an indispensable part of the product.
And so the question was… what do you put on
the matchbox?
The heyday of matchbox art
While the safety match was technically
invented in England, Sweden was where the first matches boom happened, and
where the first wave of compelling matchbox art occurred.
The Swedish matchbox style evolved a signature style built around a central figure or title surrounded by ornamental borders and patterns. This characteristic style was a mainstay until the later part of the 19th century and served as the basis for the plethora of styles that would blossom worldwide.
As production quality became more uniform and matches became more of a commodity, the function of the matchbox design shifted. While previously attempting to convince buyers of the comparative quality of the manufacturer, matchboxes were now about branding—and this meant appealing to people’s emotions rather than their logic.
This meant printing something that was “cool” at the time, as opposed to a manufacturer’s name. Thus matchboxes from this time are a fascinating window into what people considered to be fashionable or exciting. Match companies would pick a thing that was considered appealing and use it as their identity and brand (e.g. Tiger matches).
Animals! Birds, cats, tigers, bears, you name it: animals were cool before Buzzfeed showed up. And... anything to do with the the number ‘three’: in hindsight, this is the most surprising one—but people seemed to think that anything that came in threes was just the best.