How to Collect Matchbooks

Starting Your Collection

• 1

  Study the matchbox cover for traits that make it desirable to collectors. Age is a major factor. According to the official British Matchbox Label and Booklet Society, most match covers created after the 1970's are not worth much. Match covers from certain countries such as South America, Central America and Africa are considered hard to find and rare.

• 2

  Study distinguishing marks and styles of match covers online at Matchpro.org or any official match cover collector's site. This will help you determine how much should be spent on a specific match cover or collection of match covers.

• 3

  Search for collectors willing to sell or trade their match covers. As of June of 2010, Matchcover.org had links to individual collectors and what items they were looking for or trying to exchange.

Caring for Your Match Covers

• 4

  Remove matches from the matchbooks by carefully pyring open the staple with a letter opener, then pulling the matches out one by one. According to the Rathcamp Match Cover Society, which claims to be the oldest match cover collecting society in the world, 95 percent of matchbook collectors remove the matches from the covers for ease of storage and display.

• 5

  Store your match covers in a dry place where they can be laid flat. Photo albums with acid free pages are a good choice, as well as shoe boxes. There are special albums designed for match covers available at some hobby supply stores and online.

• 6

  Display the covers only in climate-controlled rooms and out of direct sunlight.