As A Kid Back In The Mid 1950s,

I was a phillumenist, yes I admit it, 

I along with many of the other kids on the street collected matchbox labels before we started stamp collecting, all images courtesy Nittosha,

I guess because at the time so many family members smoked and a Ronson gas lighter was something many could not afford, so matches ruled the day, in truth I can not remember if most of the labels came from China or Japan,

 but from now on collecting labels is about to get a lot more difficult. Japan’s largest manufacturer of matchboxes, Nittosha, has announced that they’re shutting down their business line in June after fulfilling all existing orders,

Nittosha was founded almost 100 years ago in 1926 and began as a small match-maker. They offered their own brand of matches but where they really flourished was customized matchbooks for different brands and business, hence why so many different labels were available,

 in 2016 Kanematsu Sustech, a lumber company that had been producing matches since 1938, exited the business, and with Nittosha now following suit, it signals the end of an era, the company has diversified their business and produce things like tissues, hand towels and face masks, which have certainly been good for business lately, and for collectors, the good news is that many of the wonderfully vintage designs are digitized and can be found online. One good place to start is this collection from the 1920s-1940s. If you would like something more tangible, try this book of Japanese matchbook labels, now here is a thought, I wonder how much my mid 1950s matchbox label collection would be worth now?