How to Display Old Match Packs/ Boxes Collection

Jennifer
by Jennifer
3 Materials
2 Hours
Easy
I have a lot of match packs/ boxes from all over the world, some are very old. At one time I must have had around 500 or more icon ! I got rid of all of the duplicates and ones that were plain (no real significance) many years ago. I saved the most unique ones like from other countries, 1896 wood box and ones from places that are no longer there, like a restaurant on old route 66. I collected most of them myself. Family and friends would always bring me back a few from their travels and journeys too.
I have displayed them in several different ways over the years. For example in a big glass vase but you couldn't see them all and I really wanted to show all of them. I have about 200 now (more manageable). I put them in an old side door window frame but still had too many for even that huge frame! The rest were just sitting on a glass plate.icon Not what I wanted so I used another frame I had made from a kitchen cabinet door with a glass insert!
This is what I did to show off the whole collection!

The one with the butterfly is from 1896, the blue pack is from the Presidential Airplane, the Hard Rock in London, Italy, Prague, Yellowstone Park and just so many more!
Matches are not something you can find anymore so I think it's a great collection to have and display. There is the removeable tape I used.
This is the cabinet door I used and it was already painted black. Perfect because the other window frame I use for the matches is also black and has matching fabric color backing. I used it for pictures at one time but not anymore so it was a great choice for the rest of the collectionicon !
On the back of the cabinet door I had added hangers and holders for the cardboard I cut to fit the frame. All of this was already done so all I needed to do was put in the matches!
See how some of the packs are lopsided that is because I have them attached with tacks. I fixed that with removeable tape and it works great!
I wasn't sure which new way I was going to attach the matches this time but I was definitely tired of the lopsidedness!
The removeable tape was the best answer for me and it works great! Now the matches aren't lopsided anymore!!


Just another way to display something I love!
I know not everyone has a match collection but I wanted to show that nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it! Now my whole collection can be seen and they both look great. I wish I could get a better picture of them though so everyone could see them!
I love all comments and questions! Thanks for looking!
 
Resources for this project:
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
 2 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Nov 05, 2017

    These are all so unique! I love how you displayed them

    • Jennifer Jennifer on Nov 05, 2017
      Thanks Wendy! I wish I could get a better picture of all of them because some are so different and you will never see them again.
Next