rathkamp matchcover society · 2 the president's message it is that time of year to make your...

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RATHKAMP MATCHCOVER SOCIETY

THE VOICE OF THE HOBBY SINCE 1941

by Mike Prero

May/June 20041

There is no other society on earth that has such an infatuation with automobiles than ours. Granted, it may be more of a male thing, but to simply define the auto as a utilitarian device designed for transportation is to miss r========-, the point completely. It' s an extension of our personality, and, to many, a member of

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2

The President's Message

It is that time of year to make your final plans to attend the RMS convention. Hotel reservations can still be made by calling 1-800-524-8436. The Trans Canada Matchcover Club will provide you with an excellent location to get together to swap matchcovers and matchboxes. T. C., their mascot, will welcome you to a cooler climate than most of us are used to in August. There is still time to donate covers for the convention bags and for the freebie tables. Other prizes can also be donated for games and the raffle. The host club has arranged for discounts in area restaurants and shops to make your stay as economical as possible. I encourage you to attend the convention. I always enjoy the visit with my fellow collectors and have a new enthusiasm for collecting after the convention. I hope you are able to join us in Toronto and catch the enthusiasm for your hobby by participating in the best hobby that exists. There is no other collecting group that offers so much for free at their collecting conventions. Enjoy your Summer and your hobby by joining me in Toronto.

RMS President,

Hall of Fame Nominations

It is time to start thinking of those people who deserve a place in the RMS Hall of Fame. This is a way to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to the hobby. The plaque containing the names of inductees is a permanent tribute to those who have helped to make out hobby what it is today.

Individuals nominated for the 2004 RMS Hall of Fame may be living or deceased. If living, they should be RMS members in good standing with twenty or more years of membership. Deceased individuals considered must have joined RMS at least ten years prior or nomination.

RMS Bulletin May/June 2004, No. 508

The nomination should include a resume of the individual's contributions to the hobby and a statement as to why the person should be considered for the Hall of Fame, Be sure to include both the name and RMS number of the nominator and nominee.

Send names, with the qualifications, to Chairperson Carol Stone, PO Box 231, Somers, NY 10589-0231 by July 31, 2004. Or, submit them to the Chairperson at the RMS Convention no later than noon on Wednesday. Thank you.

Here's One Place Where You Do Want To Strike Out!

See the Membership Report on p. 31 if you are interested in bowling at the RMS Convention!

THE RMS BULLETIN

The RMS Bulletin is a bimonthly publication of the Rathkamp Matchcover Society. RMS dues are $15 (single) for North America and $20 (single) for overseas. Add. family members are $4 each. Dues are to be submitted to Treasurer. All articles, advertisements, comments, and letters should be sent to the Editor. Publication dates are: Sept., Nov., Jan, Mar., May, and Jul. Deadline for all submissions is 30 days before the publication month. This publication is owned by the Rathkamp Matchcover Society and is made available for public distribution through first class (Canadian and overseas) and bulk mail rates.

RMS WEB SITE: http://www.matchcover.org

RMS OFFICERS (2002-2004):

President: Charles Specht, 2306 Belmore Dr., Champaign, IL 61821-6263 E-Mail: [email protected]

1st V.P.: Morris Pasternak, 151 Cooperage Cres., Richmond Hill, Out. L4C 9K8 CAN

2nd V.P.: Grant Gehringer, 4761 Parkman Ct., Annandale, VA 22003-5046 E-Mail: Grant. [email protected]

Secretary: Shirley Sayers, 1290 Corporation St., Beaver, PA 15009 E-Mail: [email protected]

Membership/Treasurer: Terry Rowe, 1509 S. Dugan Rd., Urbana, OH 43078-9209 (937) 653-3947

E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Mike Prero, 12659 Eckard Way Auburn, CA

95603 Tel: (530) 885-3604 E-Mail: Rmseditm@~vl.net

RMS Bulletin May/June 2004, No. 508 3

the family. Take my own example as a case in point.

I grew up in the 1950s and early 1960s, the golden age ofHot Rods. As soon as I was old enough, most of what little money I had went for my car.. .and it wasn't for gas. It was for chrome rims, a triple-carb manifold, big tires, custom steering wheel, a tachometer.. .. ah! Those were the days. But, four decades have passed since then. I'm older, wiser, more experienced ... and, yes, a little more portly and a little bit thinner on top, but has my relationship with the automobile changed accordingly? Not a bit!

I own a truck now, and I'm on intimate terms with every inch of it. It's 4 years old and looks brand new. I know every little blemish, every tiny scratch. I'm familiar with every little sound. I lovingly wash it every Sunday morning, agonizing over every newly discovered ding, praising myself whenever I discover none. I lovingly dry it, denying even the slightest water spot a haven. My ex-wife would always roll her eyes when I refused to go over a dirt road or when I would carefully go around a puddle in the street. She never failed to mumble under her breath as I would always pick the space at the end of the parking lot to avoid getting doors slammed into me. It was a symbiotic relationship: my truck took care of me, and I took care of my truck. My ex just saw it as excess testosterone.

Not surprisingly, then, many of us are enamored with Auto covers, whether they be Dated Auto, Auto Dealers, Antique Car sets, or whatever. There's more than a bit of nostalgia there .. . a bit of appreciation that others, perhaps, don't see. A lot of people still measure their childhood by what type of car their families had then. I still vividly remember, when I was in junior high, my father flying us all out to new York City, buying a brand new 1957 Chevy, and driving all the way across country on the return trip. And, this is a BIG category, with thousands and thousands of covers available, especially if you lump the specialized areas noted above into a general "Autos" category, as I have here. Auto collectors may also collect Auto-related categories, such as Auto Parts stores, Tire stores, etc., but those categories aren't normally included within the term "Auto", itself.

Dated Autos are basically those covers issued by the manufacturers and dealers advertising the new year's models, and, as the title indicates, these covers bear the year on them- "Plymouth The 'ONE' for '41", "The New '57 Ford", "1962 Chevrolets". The oldest I have date from the late 1930s, but there are much older ones to be had. Check your DQs and Safety Firsts; you might be surprised at what you can find relating to autos. Lots of great sets and series here, very colorful, and, as we get into the modern 30-strikes, lots of beautiful color-photo covers. David Schroeder, CAN, reported having 4,616 as of January, 2001.

"Auto Dealers" is comprised of those covers issued by dealers, dated or not, and they may not even have any auto graphics on them at all. Normally, the older the covers here, the plainer. Chevy Dealers seems to always be the hottest grouping in this area, but, of course, the more exotic dealers might be especially attractive to others- not just Lamborghini dealers and the like, but 'exotic'-as in "old"! Willys, Hudsons, Studebakers, Kaisers, LaSalles, Cords, Franklins ... the list goes on. Greg Lund, MD, has over 32 albums of Auto Dealers, comprising well over 15,000 such covers.

The rest of "Autos" can be a catch-all for any cover with a picture of a car on it, and, usually, that means lots and lots of sets-Sports Cars, Antique Cars, Racing Cars, etc. And, when you're in this arena, you've really got the world to browse through, because there are lots of box and label sets, most made for export, from Europe and Asia, especially the big match manufacturing countries such as Sweden, Portugal, and India. Ray Vigeant, CT, had over 4,000 in his "Autos" collection, and that was all the way back in 1990.

4

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Bob Woelfle, MO: [Bob sent in the follow in g)

During the late 1800s, Edward Sothe~n ~as a popular stage actor in England. Among his friends was the Prince of Wales. The prince gave Sothern a small gold matchbox as a token of his friendship. Honored by the gift, Sothern wore it in his watch chain.

One day, during a fox hunt, Sothern's horse threw him. His gold matchbox broke free, and was lost. Sothern had a jeweler make another as a replacement. Years later, he gave it to Sam Sothern, one of his two sons, both of whom were also actors. Sam, in tum, later gave the same gold box to a friend, a fellow actor named Labertouche.

About 20 years later, when Sam was out horseback riding , he met a local farmer. Upon learning that Sam was Edward Sothern' s son, the farmer invited Same to come to his home, saying that he had something special to show him.

It was the original gold matchbox. The farmer had just uncovered it that very morning i~ his fiel.d and noticed the inscription. Sam mentiOned this story in the next letter to his brother, Edward,.who was traveling through the United States With a theatrical troupe.

At the time Edward was reading the letter, he was sitting next to a young actor who had just joined the troupe. Edward told the man the sto~ of Sam finding the gold matchbox. At that pomt, Edward wondered aloud about what had happened to the copy Sam had given away.

"Here it is," the new actor said, pulling out J?s watch chain. He ex-plained that a few years earher he had received the small gold box as a gift from a Mr. Labertouche, the same person Sam had given his matchbox to so many years before.


Who's Bob Brown? 712 N. 12th St., Mt. Vernon, IL 62864

I have traded match covers with a lot of people and in most cases know nothing, or very little, about them (age, profession, other collections, etc.). And . · they know nothing about · me. So here is a little story · about Bob Brown.

I am 71 years old and semi-retired. Have been involved with Sales all my life. After college and the U.S. Army, I worked for Standard/American Oil Company for eighteen years and BASF Corporation for twelve years. Had the pleasure of teaching a course in Salesmanship at a local community college for eight years. Had a few other peddling jobs until retirement in 1994. ~ave now been working as a part-time sales clerk m a liquor store for the past ten years and having ~ ball doing it. During this time, I have been marned to the same woman for 49 years and have reared four daughters. have spent all of my years in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

I started "saving" book matches in 1973. Joined RMS in 1981 and became a "collector." I also belong to the Girlie club, the Garden State Collectors' Club, and the Birthday Club. I collect any and all kind of match covers and boxes. I don't get as deeply involved as some other collectors, but enjoy seeing how many different covers I can get. Have about 25,000 at this time. I enjoy trading but can't find enough duplicates these days to trade like I did several years ago.

I also collect piggy banks (started in 1990, now have 438), corkscrews and beer openers (1995, 376), miniature liquor bottles (1995, 213), yard sticks (1990, 77), flue covers (2002, 2), barbed wire ( 1999, 34 ), and unusual nut crackers (2002, 2). I seldom get duplicates of these items, so I'm not into trading.


Mon Generals!

I'm not a General collector ... but I am a "General" collector! One of my smaller areas is "Kings, Queens, and Generals." Originally, I didn't actively seek them out, but when a cover crossed my desk with a picture of a king, queen, or general on it, I put it aside. Mind you, the cover has to refer to a real person .... that's the historian in me. Eventually, I became interested in all Historic Characters, and so now my Generals are in with this larger area, along with notables such as Mark Twain, Marie Antionette, and the like.

There are some very nice covers to be seen here, as far as Generals are concerned. A case in point would be the 8-cover Los Angeles Times "American Leaders" set, discussed on p. 20. (For my own purposes, I include admirals with generals). Just look at that list. It includes most of the American biggies in World War 11-Amold, Eisenhower, Halsey, King, Leahy, Marshall, McArthur, Nimitz. (I would have liked to have seen a Patton in there)

MacArthur covers are one of the most numerous, thanks to all the WW II Patriotic covers still in existence. He was a very controversial general, even before he was fired by President Truman during the Korean War. A sizeable number of Americans blamed him for "deserting" the Philippines in 1942, even though he was actually acting under Presidential orders.

And, what would any such collection be without the beloved Robert E. Lee and his counterpart, Ulysses S. Grant! I also have the likes ofNapoleon, Stonewall Jackson, Caesar, Saladin, and more. And, notice, I certainly don't limit myself to just American generals, nor simply to modem generals. The past is brimming with potential candidates. All you have to do is find them on covers! If you' re interested in History, I would think that "Generals" would be a category that might interest you.

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6 RMS Bulletin May/June 2004, No. 508

Some 2003 Russian Covers

These are interesting, not only because of their topics, but because one normally doesn't see

Russian covers. It's almost always boxes and labels. Also note that these would be "flats" to us, but such are widely collected in Europe. All shown here have been made by Spichki for the Russian market. They are 5lxl38mm in size.

Seen here are:

- a Casino cover [lower left] -a Girlie cover (probably also a Casino .. . my Russian's a little rusty) [lower

left center J - another Casino cover [lower right center] - a nice Camel cover [lower right] -a nice Marlboro cover

[Note: these covers have all been reduced in size to be shown here]

[Special thanks to Hans Everink, Netherlands, for sending these in}

RMS BuUetin May/June 2004, No. 508

The Movers & Shakers: I

by Mike Prero

So far we've covered the histories of various companies- births, mergers, deaths; scions of the industry-the founders of match-making dynasties and would be kings; match tax stamps, and much more, but I think it's about time we take a look at and give due credit and recognition to the movers and shakers in the hobby, itself So, for the next several issues we'll be discussing the founders of the hobby and of RMS, the shapers and trendmakers. and the tireless and dedicated souls who make this hobby work, who put in countless hours, not on their own collections, but on making sure the gears of the hobby are always well-oiled and running as smoothly as possible.

Henry Rathkamp, for whom our Society is named, was born August 26th, 1883, in New York City. He joined the United States Navy as an apprentice at the age of 14 ~ he was married at the age of 20, and was the father of twins at 21! He reared a family of seven children all of whom lived near his home at 8 Elliot Place, Newport, R.I. He was always a hobbyist and started his collecting career with stamps which he finally sold to begin anew with matchbook covers in 1932. He specialized in Group One, liked the Army-Navy covers best and collected all kinds besides. He also had a wonderful collection of old beer steins which had a place of honor in his special hobby basement.

Henry proved to be a very fine host at the first large meeting of cover collectors which took place at his home on Labor Day weekend, 1939. His unexpected death in 1940 convinced founding collectors to later name their collectors' organization after him-our own Rathkamp Matchcover Society.

7

Ernest Damron, of Morgantown, WV, was one of the first organizers of the hobby. He was one of the very early collectors that we know of. In 1934, he

The Blue Moon Match Label Club. He founded United

[;;;;;;::===:::s...==.~Matchonian in 1936, which then went on to become what was probably the largest such collector's club in the United States at the time, although, as has been noted elsewhere, it encompassed more than just cover collecting. Looking through issues of his The United, it's easy to see that he was very organized and really into what he was doing. His newsletter included several features that were to become staples of later hobby publications-ads, question and answer sessions, President's message, etc.

As with other early hobby organizers, Damron eventually felt he had been betrayed by other collectors, as they eventually left and formed RMS. Unlike W. W. Wilson, who folded his Match Pack Notes out of disgust in 1940, Damron kept his club going until he died in 1951.

Robert (Bob) Lockard, of Bryn Mawr, PA, was one of the founders of RMS (RMS member #9). He was one of the early collectors in the hobby and was noted for his ardent hobby interests. Long before the

formation of RMS, Bob was a member of the Blue Moon match Label Club and had served as Secretary of United Matchonian. A noted prankster, he once gave Edgar Perkins what he termed the world's most beautiful feature. As Edgar opened this treasure, a firecracker inside exploded, causing much merriment. Bob also delighted in introducing himself as Tom Torrent, while Tom introduced himself as Bob Lockard.

Bob was elected first President of RMS in 1941. He was still serving in that capacity when he died suddenly in 1944; he was only 44 years old. He was inducted into the Hall ofFame in 1987.


World War II: The

[World War II has always been a fascinating topic to me because of my inherent interest in history, but also because I was born five days after the war ended . .I've always had the nagging feeling that I missed the greatest event of the twentieth century.And, it was such a vast event, with so many big and small facets, both here at home and abroad. That's always brought home to me when I page through my World War 11 Patriotic covers, for example. Recently, in doing so, I came across the cover pictured on the opposite page, and that got me to thinking about the subject once again}

THE SECOND WORLD WAR broke out as Adolf Hitler's Panzers rolled into Poland on September 1st, 1939. In the United States, there arose a mass movement of women outraged not by Hitler's atrocities, but by the inclination of the American government to aid those in peril. "What this country needs is an American revolution," declared Agnes Waters, one of their leaders. "A good old-fashioned revolution of mothers".

A confederation of groups coalesced, known as the Mothers' Movement. Most of the organizations had the word 'mother' in their title: the National Legion of Mothers of America, the National Blue Star Mothers, We the Mothers Mobilize for America. Like contemporary far-right militants, the Mothers were true believers, neither dupes nor hypocrites. The Mothers combined maternal rhetoric and antimilitarism, love of Jesus, and hatred of President Franklin D.Roosevelt. They had substantial clout by virtue of their numbers and fanaticism: they claimed 10 million members at their peak and in reality had five or six million. Moreover, they were part of an even larger non-interventionist movement. They made common cause with men of the extreme right such as Father Charles Coughlin, the Roman Catholic Detroit 'Radio Priest', notorious for his anti-Semitic, anti-Roosevelt ranting in a weekly radio program that was syndicated across America. Other notable leaders in this area included Gerald L. K. Smith; Col. Robert McCormick, the Anglophobe owner of the Chicago Tribune newspaper; isolationist ,----------,senators Burton K. Wheeler, Gerald P. Nye, and Arthur H.Vandenberg, and

, Representatives Clare E. Hoffman and Hamilton Fish.

Upper-middle-class, college-educated, the Mothers were neither socially deprived nor impoverished. Rather, they were alienated and frightened, manipulated by demagogic leaders such as Agnes Waters, Elizabeth Dilling, and Lyrl Clark VanHyning, who were more fanatical than the rank and file. The leaders were ambitious, angry, energized, and charismatic. They were motivated by super-patriotism, love for sons and husbands who might be called to war, and virulent hatred of Communists and Roosevelt, as well as the Jews. Nor were they neutral about Hitler; they applauded the Nazi leader as a barrier to Communism.

The motivations of the leaders overlapped but were not identical, and the leaders had distinctive personalities, although commonalities existed in their world view. It was a world filled with plots and conspiracies.

The viciously anti-Semitic Waters, for example, became convinced that FDR wanted to rule the world as a communist dictator in league with Jews. Possibly a Jew himself, Waters alleged, Roosevelt was duping America into fighting Germany, the only nation capable of defeating Communism. Waters testified


Anti-War Movement

before Congressional committees to oppose repeal of the arms embargo, conscription, extension of the period of service of conscripts, Lend-Lease, the use of the Navy to convoy British vessels, and the admission of Jewish refugees to the United States.

Waters' invention of bizarre conspiracies confounds the aphorism that truth is stranger than fiction. Lacking a first-rate mind, she did possess a first-rate temper. Her speeches were volcanic eruptions overflowing with bigotry. Waters claimed that the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had invited Hitler to attack Britain so Chamberlain could raise taxes on the British. Anti-Semitism had always been present in America but the Great Depression, competition for jobs, and resentment of the wealthy aggravated it.

The godfather of American anti-Semitism was Henry Ford. He never emulated the gutter-level hatespewing of Smith or Coughlin, but he encouraged those who did. Smith and Dilling were on his payroll. Ford's newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, ran a series collected as "The International Jew", which became a bible of anti-Semitism. A highly successful industrialist and one of the richest men in America, Ford evoked admiration because of his down-to-earth manners and financial and technical acumen. He was urged to speak out on other issues, such as the 'Jewish question', and his pronouncements were taken seriously.

In 1941, Curtis became chair of a group directing the largest, and originally the most moderate, of the women's anti-war groups, the National Legion of Mothers of America (NLMA). Founded in 1939 by three Los Angeles Mothers, financed and publicized by the press magnate, William Randolph Hearst, who hated Roosevelt, the NLMA had evolved by Pearl Harbor into an extremist organization. The Legion's movement reached millions of women. Its leader, novelist Kathleen Norris, was a conservative Republican who nonetheless h--~-1 =~= crusaded for suffrage and Prohibition and against war and capital punishment. F: [Taken from History Today, Dec. 1999, by Glen Jeansonne]

Of course, all of the speeches, rabble-rousing, and anti-war efforts eventually . came to naught in the face of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on the morning of December 7, 1941. With that event, much of the support that these groups had enjoyed vanished, literally in a single day.

That was six decades ago, and much has changed--enemies are now friends; . friends are now enemies ... and yet, one doesn't have to look very hard to see some disturbing similarities between the arguments of those earlier groups and the arguments oftoday's anti-war groups.-the same rabid personal attacks on the current President, the same "It's a Jewish conspiracy" announcements, the same predominance of a two-party split over a unified government. War is . never a pretty sight, but it's unfortunately become a modem tradition that the · really ugly aspects of war are now no longer on the battlefield ... but rather here :. at home.

[Full-book pictured on opposite page courtesy of Jim Spector, FL]


Disclaimer Our Lady of Fatima Shrine [ .... or, "Here's Where I Get In trouble Again'']

[Just so everyone understands that these are my opinions only and do not necessarily represent

the Hobby, or my parents, who raised me So, there I was going through covers, and I run across this as a Catholic} one. "H-m-m-m, this looks interesting," I thought...and it is .. .

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During the warm weather months, it turns out, thousands come to this national shrine daily. It's a popular place for prayer, retreat, and photographic opportunities. Established in 1954, fashioned after the Fatima of Lisbon, Portugal, this country devotional center of over 15 acres is operated by the Barnabite Fathers, who are an international order of Catholic priests. Fatima USA is open to the public every day of the year. There are daily devotions conducted here every day of the year. Additionally, all the services of a Catholic Church are available here including (daily) Confessions.

Behind the main alter, made of Italian Carra marble, is the world-famous 24' by 7.5' Peace Mural. The left side shows the consequences of a lack of peace. The right side depicts a tranquil world.

Outside, Saint Patrick is one of over one hundred lifesize marble statues representing saints from every race and walk of life, reminding visitors of those who excelled in their love for God ... "Great! "I thought. "If there's anything we can use more of, it's peace and tranquility. "

... Then I turned the cover over and learned that this place of 'worship' has a cafeteria, gift shop, souvenir shop, and on the last Sunday of every April and October you can get your car blessed here.

Good grief! Did the -~·,;:'flif.--¥.-~·'1';.'"·,...,.~..., Protestant Revolution

mean nothing? What next? A new amusement park? ... "Jesusland?" [Actually, didn 't someone already come up with that idea?]


The Question of Early Non-Diamond Matchbooks

Using my handy-dandy Manumark Dating Guide, I may have turned up some interesting 'evidence' ... . or, at the very least, and interesting question. Looking for the earliest dates for non-Diamond manumarks- American Match Co., Lion Match Co. , N.

11

Shine Co., Star Match Co. , Union Match Co., and Universal Match Co. all have the .. ~ earliest such date = 1928. Is that simply a coincidence? Keep in mind that the ~ST£~ Manumark Dating Guide is based solely on those thousands of Dated covers that I have come across in the last 21 years of collecting. Undoubtedly, there are many more that I've never seen, so none of this is written in concrete. Still, no non-Diamond dated covers prior to 1928 is pretty odd! The earliest dated manumark I have for Ohio Match Co. is 1929.

Hmmmmm! Does that mean that all matchbooks before 1928 were Diamond-manufactured? Is that when the Diamond patent ran out? Can anyone come up with a dated non-Diamond matchbook earlier than 1928? Apparently, it's not that simple (is it ever?) I'm thinking, for example, of the well-known dated 1914 Stanley Adamkiewicz cover, and that' s by the McGill Match Co. [which isn't in the above MM Dating Guide, by the way, because I've never seen the actual manumark}. So, that would seem to indicate that other companies were producing their own matchbooks at least as early as 1914.

I have some notes to myself on known Pre-World War I covers, of which I started a list:

1. Knights of Columbus cover issued to the doughboys. 2. Another Knights of Columbus cover 3. 28th Division Command. This was the Philadelphia Keystone Division. 4. Buy Fifth Liberty Bonds by a Philadelphia concern; each match had "Buy Bonds" on it (printed

sticks). 5. Cramp Shipyard, Philadelphia. It solicited labor to build ships. 6. Washington Crisps cover

Are these all Diamond covers? Well, the Washington Crisps cover, c. 1910, is. And, so is that fabulous dated 1898 cover pictured on p. 17 .. .. but I don't know about the rest. Perhaps their owners could drop me a note.

And what about the original Diamond patent (which was, of course, the original Pusey patent)? We all know the well-known story about how Diamond sued the Binghamton Match Co. almost immediately afterwards for infringing on its new patent. .. so we know that Diamond was certainly serious about keeping matchbook production to itself. But then we enter that same murky period- 1892-1919--discussed in the Jan/Feb issue, where we know next to nothing of the industry's history. It's curious that out of all the literature I've gone through in the last 21 years as an editor and researcher, I don't recall ever having coming across a discussion (not even a mention) of this patent question. At some point, Diamond's patent ran out and other companies were then free to begin manufacturing their own matchbooks. But when was that? Or, did Diamond, for its own reasons, simply make the matchbook public domain at some point during this period? After all, Diamond did do that with its non-poisonous match. Granted, it's hardly likely. There would certainly have been mention of that in the literature, including Diamond's own publicity as well as from other sources.

In any event, all this simply goes to further prove an old truism in Science--each discovery only leads to more questions ... . but you have to admit .... it's fascinating!


Looking for a source of high quality vintage covers from a reputable source? Look no further! We have built the world's largest online matchcover store and are continuing to add to it on a weekly basis. We 've got covers that date back into the 30's through the 70's with a few collectible covers from the 70 's though the 90's as well . Our entire inventory is searchable making it very easy to find all the covers you are interested in .

We invite you to check out our vast online inventory at our web site:

www.matchcoversgalore.com

We offer our covers at very reasonable prices and provide lightning fast shipping. Some of our top categories include:

Airlines Automotive Beer/Soda Casinos Contours I Jewelites Farm & Construction Equipment Features Girlies Military

Navy Ships Political Radio I TV Railroads Road Side Drive Ins Patriotic Sports Truck Lines Ship Lines

Along with many, many covers from a multitude of other categoriesl

We're always looking for top quality, vintage collections to purchase at TOP DOLLAR. If you have an interest in selling your collection, give us a call or drop us an email. We travel throughout the country on a regular basis for quality collections.

Looking forward to seeing you at AMCAL this month and at RMS in August!

Warren & Jane Barnes --- Matchcovers Galore [email protected]

PO Box 12 --- Amherst, NH 03031 --- 603-672-8142 RMS #9289


So, What Else Do You Collect?

Angela Reddin, NY:

-Postcards - 'fridge magnets - Shopping bags -Banana stickers

Grant Gehringer, VA:

-Stamps -Coins

Brian Meyer, NE:

-Matchbook holders

-Pencils -Hummels - Koalas (all) -Box tops

- Ink pens shaped like matchsticks -Ash trays wlholder for matches -baseballs -Hard Rock Cafe pins -Planet Hollywood pins - Commemorative pins - Pro/College sports ticket stubs & pocket sched. - Flintstone items - 3 Stooges items - Bristol glass

Don Marquette, AR:

- Old time radio episodes cassettes and discs. - Civil war books/memorabilia/tour battle sites. - VHS tapes and dvd discs - Ho gauge model RR equip., RR menus+ - WW II original aircraft paintings - W.d. & h.o. wills old cigarette card sets (Brit.) -All world's fair memorabilia. - Post cards of old shiplines u.s. and foreign. -Post cards of all holiday events - U.S. postage stamps mint singles and blocks. - Twins baseball programs, world series programs

Duane Ready, PA:

- Abe Lincoln-related -Ash trays wlmatch holders - Matchsafes -Match holders for wooden kitchen matches

13

Are They, or Aren't They?

Two different covers, I mean. They're from the same business; they have the same wording and art work; they're the same size; and they're the same color. In fact, they're identical...except that the strikers aren't the same color. Do you keep them as two different covers, or not?

Most collectors, including myself, would see them as distinctly different covers. But, while you're free to apply whatever standards you see fit to your own collection, if you expect others to agree, you'd best be reasonable in your judgments. When you have something as obvious as one cover with a light gray striker and the other with a black striker, you won't encounter any problems. There have been those over-zealous collectors in the past, however, who have made "mini-collections" out of the same cover by optimistically discerning every possible shade of striker color under the sun. In fact, there's the story about one old Navy Ship collector who had a habit of "helping things along a bit" by leaving covers out in the sun so that they would fade, thereby creating "new" varieties!

One thing to be careful of is recognizing what the original color of the striker really was in the first place. Strikers are often susceptible to color changes with age. Some may take on a gray film, or a greenish film, or some may just darken. This is particularly true if the covers have been exposed to high humidity.

And then, of course, there's the long-running controversy about the validity of striker widths as constituting true varieties. Well, they do ... and they don't! A good rule of thumb to follow is that the difference in widths should be really significant in order to be counted as two different varieties. For example, the difference between most pre-War strikers (lO+mm) and post-War strikers (around 6 mm) is a glaring difference. Otherwise, you can generally forget it. It's been definitely demonstrated that the manufacturing process, itself, can cause smaller differences in striker widths within the same run of covers.

14 RMS BuUetio May/June 2004, No. 508

U.S.S. Henley (DD-762)

by Don Marquette

I have recently acquired a Navy Ship matchcover never before reported in the COMBINE listing or its update issue. The matchcover is a "Giant" Feature cover. Located behind the comb of matches, it shows Lion Match Co,Inc New York, Made in the U.S.A. Listing it in the COMBINE would give it the following notation:

H27c LION MATCH CO., Inc, NEW YORK made in the USA (Giant Feature) gd/rd-g-7b

There were three U.S.S. Henley ships commissioned. The first was the DD-39, sponsored by Miss Constance Henley Kane, a great grandniece and commissioned at Boston 6 December, 1912. The Henley provided duty with the fleet protecting American citizens and property in the face of the Mexican Revolution in 1914. When America entered the war in 1917, she patrolled the Atlantic coast and escorted fuel ships to the destroyers guarding America's first troop ships. She was decommissioned on 12 December, 1919.

The second Henley (DD-391) was sponsored by Miss Beryl Henley Joslin, a collateral descendant of Capt. Robert Henley. The Henley joined the fleet at Pearl Harbor 12 December, 1938. When the Japanese attacked Pearl harbor on 7 December, 1941, she was moored in East Loch with battle stations manned. A green sailor sounded General Quarters instead of Quarters for Muster. She fired the first destroyer shots, slipped her mooring chains, and, amid all the confusion, managed to escape into the channel, where she shot down one dive-bomber and was credited with a shared assist on another. Conned by a Jr. Lt. (her commanding officer and Exec. were ashore), she depth-bombed a Japanese submarine. After Pearl, the Henley operated with task forces to reinforce Wake Island and Midway, among other actions. On October 3, 1943, she was sunk by a torpedo. Eighteen officers and 225 enlisted men were rescued, with one officer and 14 men missing. She earned four battle stars in World War II.

The third Henley (DD-762) was sponsored by Mrs. George Wheaton, a descendant of Capt. John Henley, and commissioned on 8 October, 1946. In 1952, she went on a world cruise for 44,000 miles and 218 days. She also participated in the filming of "The Bridges of Toko-Ri." She served in the ArabIsraeli dispute, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. She became a Naval Reserve training ship in 1962, and she she maintains a state of readiness that would allow her to begin immediate operations with the Atlantic fleet for any emergency. [Research information from DANFS]


A Peek At Other Bulletins [based on current issues received since our last issue]

-Angelus MC: 15 pages, club business, Quarterly Combo, Los Angeles covers, Memories of Gilmore, Match Tricks & Covers, auction

-Badger State MC: 4 pages, club business, Pfister Hotel, ads

15

-San Diego MC: 8 pages, club business, Leon & Eddie's (including full color page of set), Binion's Horseshoe Casino, Disposition of USS Midway, German Society of Phillumeny

-Sierra-Diablo MC: 8-pages, full color, club business, Collecting Full-Lengths, RMS Convention info, Foreign Bases/Units Listing III, Defacing Covers II, Historic Hotels XXXIX, ads, auction.

-Berks County MC: 6 page, club business, Membership Info Form, UES info -Southeastern MC: 6 pages+ AMCAL flyer, club

business, Southern Swapfest report

-Connecticut MC: 4 pages+flyer, club business, How To Destroy a Railroad, ads -Tobacco Club: 8 pages, club business, du

Maurier Cigarettes, Rothmans covers, Club

-Empire MC: 8 pages, club business, Fraternal Groups, What's New From The Hard Rock Cafe, AMCAL and RMS Convention info

-Garden State MC: 6 pages, club business, Tobacco Page, Bob Franz-Garden State's Own VP, ads, Brew Pub listing

-Great Lakes MC: 12 pages, club business, Old Swedish Matchboxes, Great Lakes MC in the News, Black-related Matchcovers, Meats on Matches, B&W Full-Lengths, Barns

-Liberty Bell MC: 10 pages+ a whole stack of Celebrity covers enclosed, club business, El Vez Matchbox, Liberty Bell MC Display categories, Earliest Presidential Matchbook? Southern Swapfest Display Categories, UES info

-Long Beach MC: 8 pages, club business, Super Heroes, Extinguished Match, , auction

-MARVA: 8 pages, club business, new finds, On The Road Again, Area Leads

-New Moon MLC: 8 pages, club business, John Walker, Box Lists, On the Road (new finds)

Benson & Hedges set

You Can Contribute To Hobby Posterity

There are two RMS offices that rarely get any attention and publicity, and both actually rely quite heavily on the eyes and ears of the membership in order to accomplish their tasks.

RMS Historian: Grant Gehringer, 4761 Parkman Ct., Annandale, VA 22003-5046 (grant.gehringer @railinc.com). Grant's job is to archive all the material he can obtain pertaining to RMS and the Hobby ... newspaper and magazine articles, pertinent photographs, convention brochures, etc.

RMS Librarian: John Williams, 910 Howard Ln., Vandalia, OH 453-77-1866 (matchjsw@gemair. com). John is responsible for maintaining files of club bulletins of all match clubs worldwide, checklists, match related books and news articles, all of which will be available to be copied and sent out to collectors on request.

Both Grant and John can use all the help they can get from members. John has a want list of newsletter issues from other clubs he still needs for

-Rocky Mountain MC: 8 pages, club business, archiving, and Grant could use help in scouring Sirens of the TI, Midwest Casinos, New Casino news sources for hobby-related items. Your help cover finds, ads, auction would be appreciated.

16 RMS BuUetin May/June 2004, No. 508

Two Blockbusters

A New Record For Most Expensive Matchcover/Matchbox?

Winning bid on March 7, 2004 for this 1830 Jones American Lucifer Matches Box was $5,600.99. The seller and buyer were, of course anonymous, but the seller was in Portland, OR. Here is the description that ran with the item:

"This is "one of the first paper match boxes". A 2.75 by 1.75 by .75 inch Jones' American Lucifer Matches box "which instantly ignite, by quickly drawing the sand paper lightly over the composition. Warranted not to impair by keeping." The box is in surprising good shape. No matches. A few tears to the side of the box. Surprisingly heavy duty box, insides seem to be made of a material that would strike a match. You also get the sign, the back of which reads "The Gallery Collections Pembroke, Massachusetts."

As a collector, I just have to stand back and say "Wow!" That's the better part of$6,000 for a couple of pieces of old cardboard ... . and it's an~ box to boot! And, it's from a relatively small, unknown Eastern manufacturer. Would l be willing to pay such a price for such an item? .. .. You're dam right I would! (if! didn't mind going without food for the rest of the year).

That's $1,600.99 more than the known record for a Lindbergh cover (paid in 1991), and it's $1,599.99 more than was paid for the Washington Crisps cover in 1994. So, where does that leave us, as far as how we see this within the hobby?

Is this the new record holder for "most paid for a phillumenic item?" I don't know. Does anyone else? I believe it's the highest paid from our domestic point of view, but does it hold the record over every other cover, box, or label that's been sold in the world? As North American collectors, we tend to be fairly ignorant of what's happened with foreign boxes and labels. $5,600.99 certainly overshadows the record of what the highest price ever paid for a cover was, and it certainly holds the record here in our

domestic hobby for any cover-box-label, but has more been paid for some other rare box or label, perhaps in some place such as Britain, Japan, or the like? Perhaps one of our members overseas can help us put this eBay purchase in perspective.

The dazzling purchase also raises a number of other questions: Will this stimulate a general increase in Box collecting here in the U.S. and Canada? Will this stimulate more collectors here to become more interested and knowledgeable about 19th century material and correspondingly dig deeper for such items? We'll see. [Thanks to Jim Benes for the heads up on this one}


From eBay

The Oldest Known Dated Cover

Joel Acus, OH, acquired this outstanding cover in an eBay auction in November, 2003. This one gave me heart palpitations. I have a special interest in Dated covers and in dating manumarks, and this one is Dated!- September 28th &29th 1898! As far as I know that makes it the earliest known Dated cover. [Oh, be still my aching heart!}. Joel paid $482.77 for it.

The manumark reads: THE DIAMOND MATCH CO., U.S. A.NOLUME 1. on the saddle, but not shown (below the striker) should be Patented Sept. 27-1892. This is Diamond manumark #1 according to Bob Oliver's Diamond Manumark listing, and he gives an 1896-1909 range for that manumark, and this cover falls right in that spread of years.

It's also notable that the matches are printed sticks; the same with the Piso cover. It' s interesting to note that printed sticks go all the way back to the earliest matchbooks. cover is shown larger than normal

rr

J1 atches are made . ' •

• t •1 111: Jie aven ·

Q d

cB·a rbe don.


~ts\ [Please check the Mail Box column for answers on last issue's

American Leaders set]

~ And ~ Noma

0~ ~ Action ..._ ........ ------m...e Toys Set

John Mathot, MA: John would like to know if there are more than three covers in this Noma Action Toys set. He has the three shown here. These are old, Universal covers which have the same inside design (text+ form to be filled out and sent in for a catalog).

If anyone has a definitive answer, please let us know ... . And, if you have a question about a set or series, send in a clear pic and details, and we 'II see what information we can garner from our readers.

KNOW YOUR OOIISRSI

"Twelve-Strike" is a generic term for covers with 12 • matches. These covers are slightly wider than 1 0-strike covers in order to house the two extra matches. Over the years, they have been produced by Arrow Match Co., Advance Match Co., and Maryland Match Co., and are also to be found with a variety printing/advertising/ novelty company manumarks, as well. It's unclear as to whether Maryland, Arrow or Advance actually introduced · the size, but the best known type of 12-strike is the 12 Up trademark, which both Arrow and Advance used. It's not known what the peculiar relationship was that allowed that duel use of the same trademark.

··~~:.~.

~ffiti

H~ l..

THEROUX

I The 12-strike was never as popular, and consequently .,.N.·~ ... -~--'~-·:j.~:;,j~$'f!i£.·

never as numerous, as the to-strike. At least 1,714 are · -.. -·::.: :·~ .< :.;::,,:~rJ:.;:: "'-=:----,.~.

known. CoOU (OY U


Pierre Dorval, CAN: Recently, I attended the meeting of "Les de' Couneurs del la Manticie," a general collectors ' club in Trois Rivieres, Que. One of the members had a surprise for me consisting of 3 presentation boards full of matches. One is full of US matches, and the other 2 were full of Canadian tax stamp covers from 1939-1942. We never know what we can find .. . Proof that we can still make interesting discoveries.

Larry Danver, CA: I just read Ron Nelson's "Great Find" in the January/February 2004 issue. I recently bought an eBay auction lot of foreign matchboxes that contained the box pictured here. As you can see these matches (?) are HUGE! The box doesn't appear to have ever had any striker on it. I am very hesitant to try lighting them due to the word 'explosiv' in the fourth line of text. Since these are from Svenska Tandsticks Aktiebolaget, I can't read the text. My Swedish is a bit rusty.

~~~ cV,~~ (;~

19

Keystone/Lehigh Matchcover Club

This Pennsylvania club was originally formed as the Lehigh Valley matchcover Club in 1954. In 1987, it merged with the Keystone matchcover Club to form the Keystone-Lehigh Matchcover Club. The merger was due to poor attendance (a chronic problem for most clubs), and that is why there ' s currently only one meeting a year.

Keystone-Lehigh Matchcover Club currently has a membership of 88 people which includes 6 new members within the last few months. Membership privileges includes voting at the annual meeting, submission of auction lots, and displays at the swapfest. Anyone is welcome to attend and join in the fun, but only members may participate in the above manner. Dues are $3.00 annually.

The club holds only one meeting per year, and that's at its traditional annual Halloween swapfest held in late October/early November of each year. We try to put out 3 - 4 bulletins a year to keep members up to date on the events to be held at the swapfest.

This year' s swapfest will be on Oct. 28-30, Holiday Inn, Morgantown, PA. Just take PA Turnpike to Exit #298 and it's close by. Members may put 20 lots into our 2 auctions. Cash prizes at the Halloween Party and for display prizes. Lots of freebies and great raffle prizes.

FMI: President/Treasurer Jane Ruffner, 105 Gibraltar Rd., Reading PA 19606-3321 (610-779-3161) or [email protected]. I'm certain Jane would be more than happy to sign you up as a new Keystone-Lehigh member.

20

The Mail Box

Rob Dalton, CA: I Looc::..-~ checked on the Los Angeles Times America's Leaders 20s series. I have eight and believe it to be a complete set. They were issued during WW II. The inside printing is different on each, outlining features and resources (most aimed at war coverage) of the newspaper. All have Universal Match Corp., Los Angeles manumark. The leaders pictured on the front of the covers are:

Gen. Henry H. Arnold Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Adm. William F. Halsey Adm. Ernest J. King Admiral William D. Leahy Gen. George C. Marshall Gen. Douglas McArthur Adm. Chester W. Nimitz

[Ed Note: Jim Benes, NJ; and Bob England, P A, also have the set and confirmed the above info. And, Jim Benes brought our attention to this set going on eBay on March 30th for $43.90}

Gerry McLellan, MA: [ref the USS Intrepid article in the last issue] I went aboard the Intrepid in 1960, having transferred from another ship. The day after I came aboard, we left for a Mediterranean cruise. I was stationed there for about 1 year. The Intrepid is at The Intrepid Air and Spa~e Museum (at least he thinks that's the name). It IS

located in New York, on the West Side Highway, near W 44th. Street.

David Mollenhauer, MD: The Intrepid is docked at Pier 86 in New York City and is being used as Air, Sea and Space Museum (W. 46th St. at 12th Ave.). My sister and I visited in October last year and had a wonderful time. Our uncle, a WWII fighter pilot who was killed in action during the Battle of Leyte, was serving aboard the USS


Intrepid at the time of his death. There is a web site, www.intrepidmuseum.org, where more information can be found.

Ken Ryesky, NY: Ken also wrote in, verifying the above info, and pointing out that he and his wife are members of the museum.

John Clark, FL: In response to the query regarding KPHO-TV series [Jan/Feb issue}, I have the following 21 covers, which I believe comprise a complete set: Abbott & Costello, Amos 'N Andy, Annie Oakley, Colonel March, Cook's Comer, Five Star Playhouse, Goldust Charlie, Guy Lombardo, Highway Patrol, I Am The Law, It's Wallace?, Judge Roy Bean, Jungle Jim, Man Behind The Badge, Movietime, Passport To Danger, Ray Milland Show, Secret File USA, Stories Of The Century, This Is Your Music, Three Star News.

Dave Walters, VA: I'm always on the lookout for matchbooks being used for something in addition to their intended use, like "Matchbooks in the Law Books." I've found another category, on a TV program, and it's intriguing. The show is called "Keen Eddie". Eddie is an erstwhile NYC detective who is on loan to Scotland Yard, on sort of a cultural exchange program; he is supposed to show how law enforcement in the Big Apple solves its cases. Usually near the beginning of each episode, Eddie picks up some matches - in a pub, a restaurant, a club, wherever. One has to watch closely to see when this is done. It's fast. Sometime in the course of solving the crime, Eddie uses the matches, for something. After the guilty individual is caught, he tacks the matchbook on a big map of London he has in the apartment which he has to share with a young lady, by mistake The intriguing part is noting when he gets the matches and then what he does with them. The episodes currently air at 9pm EST on the BRAVO channel, but I believe on March 10, the show moved to Wed at lOpm, still on BRAVO. Fox aired several episodes last year, but then dropped it, and BRAVO picked it up. It's fun to watch.

Frank Dunham, IN: Recently I've been trying a


method to help speed up the flatting process on Carmine Arpino, CT: Carmine was curious about covers that has turned out to be faster than I this Giant. No counting the fold for the striker thought. All you need is a clothing iron,aluminium area, it folds over twice instead of the usual once, foil and a paper towel. First tum the heat on the making a 3 3/8"x3 118" matchbook. It has no iron to the lowest possible setting next take a 12"x manumark. Anyone see any of these before ? 12" piece of foil, fold it in half, put the cover inside the foil, take a paper towel, and lay it on a good flat surface that you will be ironing on; take the foil with the cover inside and lay it on top of the paper towel (the paper towel absorbs the moisture from the heat); now you' re ready to iron.

Use caution when using this method, do not leave the iron setting on the foil , to much heat and you will scorch the foil and cause the cover to stick to the foil which will ruin the cover,"OUCH", so keep the iron moving,about 20-25 sec. per side lifting the iron about every 5 sec. This keeps the cover from sticking, when your done take the cover while it is still warm and put it under some weight,(the cover will cool very quickly),as the cover cools under some weight it comes out nice and flat!I can do around 50 covers an hour with no damage to the covers what so ever. If you have very large collections this process would be to time consuming,if you have small collections or working on flatting certain covers this process works great! On covers that have high gloss or semi-gloss finishes cut the ironing time in half, you do not want to soften the finish! Like I said, be careful using this process; some might disagree with this method because of the risk of ruining the cover. Practice makes perfect, and once you get it down you will be pleased with the results!

[Ed. There must be as many ways to flatten covers as there are to skin a cat/ (sorry, PETAl), and the ones that involve heat and/or water have always been controversial. What's your secret?]

Survey! Why Do You Collect?

~--~ ~--~

Well, why do you collect? Not "Why are you in the hobby?", but "Why do you collect?" I know why I collect, but it's not logical to assume that we' re all collecting for the same reasons. Drop The Ed a line and let's compare notes.

22

1-

=== ~ r--~ Bits & Pieces - I I ~ -

Antiques & Auction News carried a full front page article on "Collecting Oversize Matchcovers: A Big, Big Hobby" in its Feb. 20th issue. The article was by George ·and Mary Green, who are apparently not collectors within the hobby, but the article was well-written and certainly presented phillumeny in a nice light. Unfortuantely, there was no mention of any clubs to contact. Our thanks to Bob Pitcher, NJ, for sending this item in]

Great Lakes MC is considering hosting a swapfest in the Twin Cities area, perhaps in 2006. It would help if they had some indication from collectors who thought they would probably attend so GLMC could see if it was going to be worth all their efforts. Please drop Mark Quilling a line: 1000 Edgerton St., #1313, St. Paul, MN 55101 [email protected]

James Willard's CCC listing is up to 367 covers.

Larry Kozak's 20-Strike Music Cover listing is now up to 284.

A~tswt~r to last 3ss~t~'s Mate4eot~sr Mystsry

"There were two different years in which a record-setting .five new clubs were founded! Can lYou name those years?"

.... .... .. .. 1951 and 1954!

Mate4eot~sr Mystsrlss: #61

"Which clubs originally founded AMCAL?"

That should be pretty easy for collectors out in the West. Answer in our next issue.


More Odd-Sounding Towns: II

by Roy Buckley

Painted Post, NY Pamters Crossroads, PA Panacea, FL Pangandle, TX Paradise, CA Parent, Que. Parole, MD Pass Christian, MS PawPaw,MI Peculiar, MO Pee Dee, SC Pe Ell, WA Pennsylvania Furnace, PA Pigeon, MI Pillow, PA Pilot Knob, MO Pipesteam, WV Plain Dealing, LA Point, TX Polar, WI Porcupine Plain, Sask. Post, TX Praise, KY Preemption, IL Pretty Prairie, KS Progress, P A Prophetstown, IL Pumpkin Center, CA Purchase, NY Put-In-Bay, OH Rawhide, AZ Republican City, NE Rhododendron, OR Rifle, CO Rimmy Jim, AZ Rising Star, TX Rising Sun, IN Rodeo, CA Rough & Ready, CA Roundup,MT Rugby, ND Salt Lick, KY Sand Patch, P A

Sandwich,IL Santa Claus, IN Sea Level, NC Searchlight, NV Shamrock, TX Ship Bottom, NJ ShowLow,AZ Silver Dollar City, MO Sinking Springs, P A Skull Valley, AZ Slave Lake, Alta. Sleepy Eye, MN Slippery Rock, PA Snowflake, AZ Social Circle, GA Speculator, NY Spur, TX Stamping Ground, KY Strawberry, CA Sunny Slope, AZ Sweet Grass, MT Sweet Home, OR Ten Sleep, WV Tenstrike, MN Thermal, CA Tombstone, AZ Travelers Rest, SC TwoGuns,AZ Uncertain, TX Virgin, UT Wahoo,NE Waltz, MI War, WV Waterproof, LA Wawa,PA Weiner, AR Welcome,MN What Cheer, IA Wink, TX Winner, SD Wonder Vu, CO Young America, MN ZigZag, OR

TC is having a match and match related Museum. All articles will be registered and kept in locked glass cases. We are looking for older and unique

items for display. Interested in exhibiting? Please contact: John Takahashi, 36 Pettit Drive, Toronto, ON, Canada, M9R 2W9

Dealer's Room Collectors interested in selling match covers and boxes are invited to rent a table or tables on a daily or weekly basis. For rates, information or to book your space, please contact: John Williams, 910 Howard Lane, Vandalia, OH, USA 45377·1866 [email protected].

Silent Auction TC warned you! If you missed your opportunity to submit lots! Here's a second chance. During the Convention, we will be having a number of silent auctions. Don't delay! Please contact: Carol Ziegler, 4019 Weimer Lane, Wellesley, ON, Canada, NOB 2TO.

Tours and Trips: We are enthused by the initial response. TC has let us know that there is still room for you on our Niagara Falls/Niagara· on·the·Lake/Winery tour. Did we mention this is a FREE TRIP? What are you waiting for? The bus is starting to fill for our Toronto highlights tour. We are finalizing the menu for our gourmet Taste of Toronto evening. Don't delay, send your pre-registration form to Jerry Craig.

Bowling Terry Rowe and Kathie Williman are organizing a 10-pin bowling tournament, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 11, 2004. Interested? Contact: Terry Rowe, 1509 S Dugan Road, Urbana, OH, USA 43078·9209 [email protected] d.a:nada, £h.!

Holiday Inn Select Toronto Airport, 970 Dixon Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9W 1J9 Reservations Toll Free: 1·800·524·8436 Tel.: ~416) 675·7611 Fax: ~416) 675·0305 On line: www.hiselect.com/yyz·intlapt Group Booking Code: T MS This service is available NOW

Tra.ns Cana.da. 64th E.M.S Convention August 8-15, 2004


Dinner At

Actually, it's normally breakfast at Denny's in my case. Although, over the years, I've frequented Denny's during all days of the week, at all times of the day or night. When I was in high school, Denny's was a popular late night meeting spot, since it was open 24 hours a day. These days, I

sometimes get up earlier than usual so I can have a nice, leisurely breakfast at Denny's before heading to school. So, for me, as with many other Americans, Denny's is part of Americana, as well as part of our lives. Some Denny's history and achievements.

1953 Harold Butler founded Danny's Donuts in Lakewood, Calif. His first year earnings were $120,000.

1954 First year profits lead to additional Danny's Donut shops and menu expands to include sandwiches and other entrees. Danny's Donuts is renamed Danny's Coffee Shops.

1959 The chain is renamed Denny' s Restaurants, with 20 Denny's serving customers by year's end.

1963 Expansion led by an ambitious franchising program continues and 78 coffee shops are operating in seven western states by year end.

1966 Denny' s makes its initial public offering on the American and Pacific Coast Stock Exchanges.

1967 Denny's becomes an international company by opening a restaurant in Acapulco, Mexico.

r=======;;;;;;=-=a_._, r==========~ 1968 Now 192 restaurants strong, Denny's merges with Sandy's

ALWAYS OPEN

SY)(U '$YTIYO ~ JAOl 01 CNYIUNJ

JY JNYl OMIONIJC;)()W 1UM 0t: It

"" i AYQ Y SIAOH tl • - ~lliUA.lUA] 'lNOJI)Al S1USI1WS

Restaurant chain and acquires Pioneer Restaurants.

1977 Denny's introduces the Original Grand Slam Breakfast®, which remams Denny's best-selling menu item.

1981 Denny's grows to over 1,000 restaurants.

1987 Denny's is purchased by TW ~;;;..:~~::.~;;-,.--~ Services, Inc., one of the largest

SATISfiES EYERYOIIE, EYErrwtiERE-74 HOUK A DAY !

~~ )0 WIST MOCXIHOIIID lANE AT ENTII.uKl TO \.OW FIW)

!>~IIXAS

(1..-tMia.t..oS.il<"''

restaurant companies in the U.S.

1991 Denny's headquarters moves from Irvine, Calif. to Spartanburg, S.C. , as its parent company, TW Services, Inc., centralizes company operating management and support groups.


Denny's

1993 TW Services, Inc. (Denny's parent company) changes its name to Flagstar Corporation. Flagstar Corporation (Denny's parent company) and the NAACP sign a Fair Share Agreement to provide minorities with greater employment and business opportunities throughout the company.

25

1994 Denny's forms a national partnership with Save the Children and becomes the charity's largest corporate sponsor.

1995 Flagstar Corporation (Denny' s parent company) signs an agreement with the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility to increase economic opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

1998 Denny's introduces a new Denny's Classic Diner concept that features a 1950's-style theme and a smaller building than the traditional Denny's. Flagstar Corporation (Denny's parent company) changes its name to Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc.

1999 Denny's introduces national reimaging program-- Denny's® Diner.

2000-01 Fortune magazine ranked Advantica!Denny's No. 1 in its list of "America' s 50 Best Companies for Minorities" two years in a row.

2002 Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc. (Denny's parent company) divests its two regional restaurant brands, Coco's and Carrows, and is renamed Denny's Corporation to reflect the one brand focus . [courtesy of http://www r::::= · ======-, r==::-::====:-:-==.,...., .-----------~ . dennys . coml aboutusl History.asp] .. ~ .-::<

There are a variety of Denny' s covers to be had.

As an additional aside, whenever someone mentions "Denny 's " in my family, one of the kids eventually asks, "Do they still give out those Grand Slam holograph baseball cards?" In the 1980s and 1990s my sons and I were avid baseball card collectors... and we consumed quite a few Denny's Grand Slam meals to get those special baseball cards! We still have those cards .... and no, they don't give them out anymore.

S.lNV~O'V.lS3~

AlWAYS OPEN!

CONS.ISTENH.Y HiiJE 11

RESTAURANTS


Heritage Or

Time has a way of blurring things. As the years go on, the primary participants in an event pass away, and different versions of what that event was really all about circulate and merge, while memories of that event become dimmer and dimmer. The King Arthur stories, for example, which are all about knights and

L----------~ castles, actually tell of a time long before the advent of such things. And in a way, I think, the same has happened to the story of how our hobby began and who was

responsible for it all.

Today, we tend to think ofRMS as being synonymous with the beginning of the hobby, and some, I'm sure, would probably name Henry Rathkamp as the one person who started everything off (simply because RMS bears his name). But, neither are actually true, and, as it seems, both are perhaps even less true now, in light of the following ...

Thanks to Loren Moore, CA, I've had a chance to read through four years' worth of Match Pack Notes, 1937-1940, and that, coupled with information from other contemporary sources, such as early collector correspondence, and, I believe, early RMS issues and later regional club bulletins, has led me to the definite conclusion that the hobby as we know it should be credited, in fact, toW. V. Wilson, founder, editor and publisher of Match Pack Notes, or he and his contemporary peers, rather than the founders of RMS, as we are wont to do.

Why? Well, let's set the stage first. By the late 1930's, there were already several clubs in existence, as well a number of informative newsletters. Whatever scattered collectors of covers, boxes, and labels there were prior to 1931 we may or may not ever find out, but M. A Richardson had organized the Blue Moon Match Label Club in 1931, and that would run to 1942. By 1936, the United Matchonians, WV, was established. Also in 1936, Match Lights began to be published by Jess Heuzel. This was out of Kansas City and ran until 1941 . In the same year, Match Pack Notes, written by W. W. Wilson, in San Francisco, appeared. The United Matchonian newsletter was a third publication during this same period. The Matchonia & Hobby Advertiser ran from 1938-1939, when it became the Collector's Forum.

Thus, phillumenic collecting had a good start before Henry Rathkamp started collecting and before the formation ofRMS. C.S Morris writes, "Henry Rathkamp and I started serious collecting of match covers back in 1932 .. " (letter written to Bill Thomas, February 12, 1974). By then, a number of people had already been collecting, and Blue Moon was going. "Those people who joined Blue Moon before 1935 can be classified as the real pioneers of the hobby ... Cover collectors really had no place to go before Blue Moon for mutual help or exchange of information." (Long Beach MC bulletin, November 1975)

By the late 1930s, however, problems were appearing. None of these early groups focused specifically on covers, or even boxes or labels for that matter. They all covered other collectibles, as well (almost always paper-collectibles) (ex: Match Lights, July 1938). One can look back and easily see why. Phillumeny in the US was just starting; such collectors represented a handful of the collecting population in general; they were disorganized and unstructured. Plus, there were a number of other burgeoning paper collections going on, so why not cover them all? Sounded good, but, of course, one problem for these various club leaders and editors was walking that inevitable tightrope where you keep all those different collectors happy. It proved to a difficult job, at best ... and, in the end, it proved to be impossible, especially as various types of collectors grew in number. As different collecting interests


Heresy: I

tended to dominate the newsletters, other collectors howled their dissatisfaction. "One group seemed to be nearly taken over by razor blade wrapper collectors." (Long Beach MC bulletin, November 1975) And so it was, by 1939, that a number of cover collectors felt that what they needed was a club just for cover collectors. Not an unreasonable goal, even laudable from our point of view today, but another problem appeared ... this time in the methods used to accomplish this.

If we go back momentarily to the original movers and shakers-M. A Richardson and his Blue Moon Match Label Club, W.W. Wilson and his Match Pack Notes, Ernest Damron and the United Matchonians, in particular. We may well understand their chagrin at what they were seeing. They had started something ... but it was getting away from them. I'm second-guessing them, here, I admit, but it's more than likely that each felt that his organization ... his newsletter ... should rightly be the guiding light for all these collectors, the spearhead of this new wave of collecting. And, they had strong arguments on their side-factual arguments, moral arguments, ethical arguments ... but it simply wasn't something they could control.

As more and more new publications and new organizations appeared, these innovators complained, often bitterly. And they weren't just complaining about competition-for these other sources for collectors were definitely competitors. These early organizations weren't grouped as we are now, a bunch of equal regional clubs under a national organization. And, they didn't freely 'share' members as our clubs do today. Indeed, W.W. Wilson, in 1939, demanded that subscribers to Match Pack Notes not belong to any other such clubs or organizations and be willing to sign a statement to that effect. (Match Pack Notes, November 1939). He went on to say, " ... we are opposed to such clubs that now exist, or have existed in this Hobby .. " "These clubs do get quite a number of beginners, and if YOU are well informed on the Hobby, well posted as to values, and have an elastic conscience, you do have a wonderful opportunity to take [advantage of] beginners by trading them inferior covers, and with the help given you by the official organ, secure much better covers for [should be 'from'} them." [ouch!] Wilson usually referred to such clubs in general, but occasionally he'd broadside a specific competitor, such as United Matchonians. (Match Pack Notes, January 1940; March 1940). By the way, it's also interesting to note that Wilson reserved his greatest disdain for any " ... so-called club, owned privately and for the profit of the owner .. " (Match Pack Notes, November 1939).

Then there was the problem of plagiarism. Collectors and organizations 'borrowed' unmercifully from each other, although Wilson's Match Pack Notes seemed to be the biggest victim as far as content was concerned. These early clubs/publications pioneered lists, for example, and Wilson, especially put in an incredible amount of time and effort preparing lists for his publications. He also made up a complete symbol/cataloging system for covers, which he used throughout his publications. One can well imagine his and others' frustration at finding such personalized and dedicated work appearing in a competitor's publication! Wilson finally called it quits in September 1940, after lambasting Match Lights for stealing his list of First Baseball. (Match Pack Notes, September 1940)

And, as far as the personalities noted here, the plagiarism wasn't limited to text. Wilson and Damron, particularly, thought that their membership was being stolen, as well .... and in a very real way, it was.

[Next issue, we'll see in what way, and we'll examine what theformation ofRMS in 1941 has to do with all ofthis]

28

US3NSSS80X RMS BULLETIN AUCTION features a 75%/25% split (you get 75% of what your lots sell for) . Send your lots to Bud Shappell, 109 Wood Ln., Reading, PA 19606-2446 (Tel: 610-779-0733).

OFFICIAL REVISION DATE COMING UP FOR RMS WEB SITE: All classified ads end their six-month run on June 30th. It's time to renew current ads and/ or send in new ones. 50 words+name,address for $10 (check made out to RMS). Literally global advertising for six months for only $10 ... can't beat that! Send text and check to the Ed.


CLASSIFIED ADS MILITARY LISTINGS: Army ($15+$2.41 postage), Navy ($10+$1.72 postage), Air Force ($10+$1.49 postage), Marines ($5+.60¢ postage) . Almost 6,000 covers listed in total. Mike Prero, 12659 Eckard Way, Auburn, CA 95603 (rmseditor@ev1 .net)

FORT SMITH TROLLEY COVER: is from a restored line which issued this cover. $1.25/or 3 for $2.75/or $7 for $5 (postage is included). Orders and checks to: Russell Potter, 19088 192nd Ave., Spiro, OK 74959-4210 .. .. ... .. .... .... . .J/A04

Classified ad policy: Ads are published on a space available basis. Please keep 'em short and send them in as soon as possible! 10¢ a word Ads offering free items, etc. are free. Check should be made out to "RMS. " Send to Ed ASAP (I always need as much warning as possible). Fee schedule for larger-sized ads may be seen on the last page.

New Feature On MORE ANNOUNCED DISPLAY CATEGOR- RMS Web Site ..---~~~----. IES FOR RMS CONVENTION: ~~ 14 -Liberty Bell MC: August Holidays -Girlie Club MC: Best Girlie Display **Great Lakes Match Club will NOT be giving a display award at RMS this year

.. . don' t forget there will also be a golf tournament winner, as well.

CORRECTION: Last issue' s "Sports Jewelites" article gave an incorrect date for the appearance of Jewelites (1955); it was actually 1951 ; it was the Jewel that appeared in 1955. [Thanks to John Williams, OH,for catching that one]

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Homer Herb, recipient of Berks County's RMS Area Award.

A NOTE ON YOUR AUCTION LOTS: As we approach the RMS Convention, Bud & Pat Shappell are receiving two different types of auction lots at the same time- those for the

"In the News" features collectors and hobby topics that have been recently featured in the news or have served to publicize the hobby in some way. As of this writing, I have items posted going back to January and am envisioning having a year's worth of such items posted at any one time, although that may depend on how many graphics have to be posted. Ifyou're written up anywhere, appear on TV or radio, please send me the details so I can

bulletin auction and those for the convention post the information. auction. So, if you're sending in lots, please make certain that you've clearly indicated which auction you intend them for in order to avoid any possible confusion.

In the mean time, take a look at who's currently up.

NIINOiSIM '4V9 N!l~~

RMS BuUetin May/June 2004, No. 508 29

Great Lakes MC received an unsolicited plug in the February 2004 issue of MplsStPaul Magazine, although some interested respondees thought that the

------'"Great Lakes Match Club" was a singles group! [you gotta love it!}

Duane Ready, PA: "I grew up in Dormont, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and lived there from 1957-1972. I started collecting matchcovers during that time and had quite a few from Dormont from those years. I prepared them for display in sequential addresses. I took them to Kinko' s and made a color copy, having to cut and paste 6 pieces. I believe the poster frame was 23"x36". It turned out quite well. There were a total of77 covers. I took the display to a meeting of the Dormont Historical Society, and it's now on display in their memorabilia room. I received a note for the Society as follows: 'Many thanks for your donation to the Society of the framed copy of matchbook covers of Dormont businesses. It is much appreciated and will be treasured.'

Bob Pitcher, NJ: "I have a personal feeling of accomplishment because I persuaded the owner of the Climax Brewing Company to get his business advertised with matchbook covers. I'm enclosing one, and it looks great. I have others to trade for Brew Pubs and Micro-Breweries. [Ed. note: The cover is a black and gold metallic that didn 'tscan well, but it is a nice cover!]

Loren Moore, CA: Loren was featured in the March 25th Sacramento Bee 's "People" column. The article covered some of the highlights of the hobby-the Lindbergh cover, current status of matchbook production, etc.-and Loren's other collecting interests. Sierra-Diablo got a great plug, and so did the hobby!

Brian Mason, FL: Brian was featured on the March 18th issue of TCPalm.com, a Florida web newspaper/magazine (it might still be up at http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/living/article/0,1651,TCP _ 1043_2734478,00.html). The in-depth article covered Brian's initial interest in matchcovers and his displays at the University of Florida's natural history museum in Gainesville during their "Collectors' Day"). Another announcement for the hobby ... and he also got in a plug for Southeastern MC. And the same article also appeared on the same day in Vero , Beach's The Press Journal newspaper as a full 1 112 page color feature. [The latter was sent in by Louis Choquette, FL, who mentioned that Brian had told him that he had had a lot of calls as a result of the article}.

... Have you publicized the hobby recently? Send us the details and pies.

30

MATCHBOOKS IN THE LAW BOOKS: PART XXXI

by Kenneth H. Ryesky, Esq.

================================== Ken Ryesky (RMS # 9003), member of the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bars, practices law in East Northport, NY and teaches Business Law at Queens College of the City University of New York. He can be reached at P.O. Box 926, East Northport, NY 11731 or by e-mail at [email protected].


Miller's attorneys could not contradict Brown's affidavit, but did try to argue that the potential confusion was lessened because in many establishments the Player's cigarettes were sold not by the bartender, but by inanimate vending machines. The Board found the distinction to be immaterial, and Miller's attempt to bring Player's brand Beer to Canada was unsuccessful [ 116].

Some of the Player's book matches referred to in Mr. Brown's affidavit have found their way into the hands of Stan Tombs, who has graciously submitted them as illustrations here.

[To be continued]

Part 28 of this Column recounts how the makers [116] Imperial Tobacco, Ltd. v. Miller Brewing of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey won a Co., 5 C.P.R. (3d) 10 (Canada Trade Marks Opp. trademark infringement case against the purveyor -------------------, of Johnnie Walker cigars. The overlapping markets for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products can cut both ways in trademark cases. Just as a cigar with the same name as a whiskey can cause public confusion, so too can a beer with the same name as a cigarette.

ttJ g'~ ~ ?lt(3 Die ~

414t,4~!

In 1977, Miller Brewing Company Player's . filed an application to register · -F 1 r · r E n

"Player's" as a name for a brand of beer " v .. . " ... •• v . • u , . . ..... - .. .. • • •

in Canada. Imperial Tobacco, Ltd. opposed the registration as being likely to cause confusion with its own Player's brand of cigarettes.

In the ensuing litigation, the Trade Marks Opposition Board gave great weight to an affidavit of Imperial Tobacco's R. Donald Brown, who stated that Player's cigarettes were widely advertised in tens of thousands .._.._......,"-~ct,~n~~:.:.. "'

of Canadian retail establishments that also sell beer, and that the Player's trademark "has also been prominently displayed on scoreboards, vehicles, and promotional items such as book matches, ashtrays, lighters, ice scrapers and the like."

u . :;_ •.. ~ .• -- - ~ - . . .... ,.. ~ ' ... .

Minute! Prends done une bonne

H~OT1'f.. 7. AU \IERSO


RMS MEMBERSHIP REPORT-MAY/JUNE 2004 SPONSOR

NEW MEMBERS (*=will trade) 9586--Harry A. Schools, 1606 South Newkirk St, Philadelphia, PA 19145-1208 ...... ............... ... RMS Web Page

COLLECTS: AM Radio Stations

ADDRESS CORRECTION 4403-Nadine Ritter, 1117 Main Ave., Libby, MT 59923 7660-Michael Hunn, 548 Phillips Dr., Arapahoe, NC 28510 8592-Pat Flynn, 2200 N. Torrey Pines Dr. , #1094, Las Vegas, NV 89108-6503 9020-Richard White, 3/652 Fergusson Drive, Upper Tutt, 6077 New Zealand 9559-Barry Turner, address should read "CLINTON TWP, MI 48036-4207"

REINSTATED 9874-Billijo Piper, 9836 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042

COLLECTS: Pizza, Pigs, Indians, Cats, covers with a knife/fork/spoon, Chickens, Features & Combos.

INACTIVE 2059-Bob Woelfle, 1463 Blackhurst Dr., St. Louis, MO 63137-1532

DECEASED 3991-Madeline McDade (12/02/03)

Respectfully submitted,

Terry L. Rowe

31

ARE YOU A TEN-PIN BOWLER? IF SO, CONTACT TERRY IF YOU WILL BE IN TORONTO ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11, 2004, AND WOULD LIKE

TO BOWL THREE GAMES.

Do you want to go to the RMS Convention in Toronto and you do not have transportation? Contact Toby Messmer if you are interested in taking a bus ride. Plans are to leave on Sunday from Cincinnati on August 8th, 2004 and depart Toronto on August 15, 2004. Contact Toby at 859 441-3339 or [email protected] for more information.

BIRTHDAY CLUB

The following club members will be celebrating birthdays on the dates indicated. Please check your latest roster to get current addresses and categories: Helen Byers (5/10), Bob Borton (5/27), Ruth Liebman (6/4), and Marty Stephen (6/8)

If you're interested in receiving 200-300 covers or boxes during your birthday month, send an SASE #10 envelope to: Wally and Pat Mains, 105 Roger Ln., Florence, KY 41042-2334. NEW MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.

This is a nice little "extra" hobby activity, and it's an excellent way for newer collectors to establish some connections with other collectors. Pat & Wally will send you all the details and information you need. Just drop them a line or e-mail them at [email protected]


FOREST CITY MC AUCTION 2004- May 8, Comfort Inn, Ashtabula, OH. Room: $60 (includes complimentary continental brealifast). All day auction. FMI or to submit lots before April 25th: Larry Kozack, 3470 Hunter Dr., N. Olmsted, OH 44070 ([email protected])

AMCAL 2004 -May 23-29, Picadilly Inn Airport, 5115 E. McKinley Ave., Fresno, CA (559-251-6000). Room rate: $73. 8 days jam-packed with activities! FMI: Ellen Gutting, 824 Peachy Canyon Circ., #101, Las Vegas, NV 89144

UNITED EASTERN SWAPFEST- June 23-27, Plaza Hotel, Halfway Blvd, Hagerstown, MD (800-732-0906). No room rates yet. FMI: Linda Clavette, 13 Creekstone Dr., Mont Alto, PA 17237 or c/avette_324@ msn.com

RMS CONVENTION 2004 - August, Holiday Inn Select Toronto Airport. Details coming. FMI: Robert Bush, 11 Pirie Dr., #74, Dundas, Ont CAN L9H 6X5 e-mail: robert. bush@sympatico. ca

Complete Convention Info!

RMS Convention: "Convention Central" at http://www. matchcover. org

AMCAL Convention: "AMCAL Central" at http://www.matchcover.org/sierra

COMING UP! ~

Jui/Aug: "Winning The War At Home"

Sep/Oct: "Canadian Excise Tax Stamps"

Nov/Dec: "CCC Covers"

Jan/Feb: "Footers"

ADVERTISING RATES GARDEN STATE MC 50th ANNIVERSARY PARTY! - Display Ads Sep. 19, Madeline's Rest., Garden Brook, NJ. More info Full-Page= $55.00 coming. Half-Page= $30.00

Quarter-Page= $17.50 Eighth-Page = $10.00 (N/A for

businesses) KEYSTONE-LEHIGH SWAPFEST- Oct. 28-30, Holiday Inn, Morgantown, PA. FMJ: Jane Ruffner, 105 Gibraltar Rd, Reading PA 19606-3321 (610-779-3161) or [email protected]

Classified Ads

First 20 words or less, $2.00; .10 per word thereafter. Same ad, three consecutive issues, 10% discount. Check made out to RMS must accompany first ad.

Submission Deadlines

All material is due to Editor NL T 30 days before appropriate publication month: Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov.

fiMS I Terry L. Rowe RMS Membership Secretary/Treasurer 1509 S. Dugan Rd. Urbana, OH 43078-9209

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

The Voice of the Hobby RMS BULLETIN The Official Publication of the Rathkamp Match cover Societ Published Bi-Monthly

PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID URBANA,OH

PERMIT NO. 200

RMS# 9005 01/Ul/U~ KENNETH H RYESKY PO BOX 926 EAST NORTHPORT NY 11731-0926

I

rathkamp matchcover society · 2 the president's message it is that time of year to make your...

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