Saturday, March 1, 2008

Matchbook Madness

As always, click on images for bigness.
Diamond 1Diamond 2

Curious as to how diamond considers the information on the back of their matchbooks important. I mean, do we really need to know the product features of a match? Did we not already know that matches were portable? Perhaps diamond brand matches are the most common selection for first-time match user? Who knows.

Below, although not particularly unique, is a matchbook from the now defunct Red Room (link printed on matchbook no longer functioning [sigh]). For years, this was my neighborhood (Go Colfax! Go Capital Hill!) bar. I shed a tear when I found out the place closed down. Ah, I remember the days of budding up with the bartenders & drinking there until 5AM. Memories.

Red Room 1Red Room 2

Now here's a matchbook for the ages: a collector's item from the Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary DIG! You could find these tasty little morsels in hipster bars & concert venues in the spring of 2005. If you haven't seen this movie, let me tell you that it is a "Must Watch." Anton Newcomb is a fucking madman & his exploits are hilarious. Bonus points for every time the Dandy Warhols get punked out. What douche bags.


The matchbook below is from Wildberry (obviously) circa 2001, which is a head shop in Oxford, OH. What I like about this particular matchbook (besides being totally blown away by the fact that I still own it) is the way the script wraps over the middle fold. That's not a design feature you see all too often, so the ingenuity is well appreciated.


2 comments:

Michelle Simon said...

unfortunately, i have only the image and not the actual matchbook. at the time, it only occurred to me to document the interior. the exterior, if memory serves, had an american flag and said something reminiscent of "america, fuck yeah."

i too miss the red room and its bartenders. it was well before 5am, but once upon a time, i enjoyed maker's mark with two of three men until the cleaning ladies arrived.

Future Man said...

wowwee zowwee, the Double R Ranch closed? how so? it seemed pretty well frequented. perchance the owner was into meth. as for the DiG m'book, i endorse the movie as well. quite a brilliant idea for a picture. and yes, Newcombe could be the craziest, yet poingant fellow in the recording industry. (i still love the part when he's trying to get into the Dandies show in NYC. unintended comedy to the mutherfucking max!) finally, the Wildberry's m'book is really groovy. it actually looks as if it could be a gatefold LP cover from a 70s boogie rock band (a la the Allmans).