Another selection from my seemingly endless collections, this time featuring vintage cigar-related matchcovers. Those pictured are from the mid 1930s through probably the early 1950s. We can date two of them--both third from the top--to WWII since they are advertising buying war bonds along with the cigars. You might be interested to know that the earlier matchcovers (prior to WWII) were slightly longer, the longer match being used to light the preponderance of cigars. After WWII, cigarettes reigned and the matchcovers were shorted just a bit, since you didn't need as much burn time to light a cigarette.
I keep my matchcovers in plastic holders made specifically for that purpose. In their Golden Age, matchbooks matchbooks were used to advertise absolutely everything, from the mundane (e.g. hotels, restaurants, cigarettes) to the downright oddball (e.g. worm farming, embalming chemicals, venereal disease prevention). My own collection covers a very wide range of topics--some of my favorites are the WWII-related, old-style pin-ups, and old diners and nightclubs.
If you all are interested, I'll be happy to post more scans.
