Go-to-bed matchbox

Go-to-bed or getting-into-bed matchboxes were a variety of match storage box popular in the mid-to-late 19th century.

Relatively small, about 6 cm high, they were frequently made of metal of some kind, though sometimes of wood or ivory.

All featured a small hole or finial, sometimes in ivory and always part of the design, into which the lit match could be placed, rather like a miniature candle.

Private collections include castle towers, a Napoleonic soldier of the Second Empire, a Gothic knight holding a torch, a little boy selling newspapers, a bear and ragged staff, and so on.

Other designs feature flower sellers and exotic ladies with a separate 'basket' in which the matches were stored.