Antique Advertising Match Safe - Selig Bros & Co Celluloid Vesta Cigar Matches For Sale

*matches not included for safety of shipping. Requires matches like those pictured typically sold in large close box with white striking tip that strikes on match case bottom.

Wonderful antique advertising match safe / vesta case featuring Selby Bros. & Co., The Leading Wholesale Tailors, 8 and 10 Battery St., San Francisco, California.

This eye-catching early advertising piece features a beautiful period angel / classical female figure illustration on one side and ornate Selby Bros. & Co. advertising on the reverse. The side is marked “Satisfaction Guaranteed.”

This style of small pocket match safe was designed to hold friction matches and is a wonderful survivor from the era when match safes were everyday accessories—especially for gentlemen who smoked cigars, pipes, and cigarettes.

Based on its construction and styling, this appears to date to the early 1900s / Edwardian era, making it approximately a century old. Similar celluloid-covered metal advertising match safes are known from the first decade of the 20th century.

DETAILS & FEATURES:

• Antique advertising match safe / vesta case

• Selby Bros. & Co.

• “The Leading Wholesale Tailors”

• 8 and 10 Battery St.

• San Francisco, California

• “Satisfaction Guaranteed” printed along side

• Celluloid advertising panels over a metal case

• Hinged metal lid

• Decorative rope-style metal borders

• Beautiful vintage angel / classical female artwork

• Pocket-size tobacco and smoking accessory

• Genuine early San Francisco advertising collectible

This piece has fantastic display appeal and crosses several collectible categories including antique advertising, San Francisco memorabilia, California history, tobacco collectibles, smoking accessories, match safes, vesta cases, celluloid advertising, tailoring and clothing advertising, and early 20th-century Americana.

It would also make an especially unique gift for a cigar smoker, pipe smoker, cigar aficionado, tobacco memorabilia collector, vintage gentleman’s accessory collector, or someone building a cigar room, smoking lounge, home bar, study, office, or man cave. Rather than another modern cigar accessory, this is an authentic piece of smoking-era history that makes a great conversation piece.

CONDITION:

Antique pre-owned condition with age-appropriate wear throughout. There is visible surface wear, discoloration/toning, scuffing, tarnish/oxidation to the metal, fading to portions of the advertising, and areas of wear/loss along the celluloid edges and corners, particularly near the top. The hinged lid opens as shown.

The aged patina is part of the character of this approximately century-old advertising piece. It has not been restored or refinished.

Please review all photos closely for exact cosmetic condition, as the photos are considered part of the description.

A fantastic little piece of early San Francisco history and an uncommon addition to an antique match safe, vesta case, advertising, cigar, tobacco, or gentleman’s accessories collection.

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