Matchbox

A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover.

Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have coarse striking surfaces on the edges for lighting the matches.

Patent claim: The described and illustrated construction of a matchbox.There are other types different from those described above, made of rubber, wood, mother of pearl, ivory, bone, celluloid, etc.

Tabletop matchboxes are of some capacity, made of fine wood, cut glass, etc., and may have a lid, the only condition being that they close well and have enough weight to allow striking a match without moving the box.

The binder must be opened to access the matches, which are placed in a comb shape and must be torn to use.them, unlike those in a standard matchbox where they are loosely packed in the drawer that can be slid with the finger.

[5] In Portugal, Jose Manuel Pereira published a series of albums to catalog and display matchbox collections called "Phillalbum".