Maine Antique Digest, April 2017

8-D Maine Antique Digest, April 2017

FEATURE

The McKenzie Collection of Vesta Cases (or Match Safes)—Strike One

omething out of the ordinary for this

month’s “Letter from London,” start-

ing with the fact that it is not a London

sale at all, but one held by Lawrences of

Crewkerne in the West Country county of

Somerset.

On January 16 they offered a collection

of vesta cases that has been building since

the 1960s. It began when John McKen-

zie’s father left him two vesta cases (one

of vulcanite, the other of gold) but it was

only after reading an article called “Col-

lecting on a Shoestring” that John and his

wife, Patricia, really got down to some

serious collecting.

By the 1980s, their buying had slowed

down somewhat—they must, after all,

have more and more often been coming

up with examples they already had in

their collection—but they carried on col-

lecting and in the end amassed some 2700

vesta- or match-related items.

The recent Lawrences sale offered

roughly half of them in an auction com-

prising 1300 vesta cases (in 497 lots) of

all types and styles, and a second sale is at

present scheduled for next winter.

The saleroom’s silver specialist, Alex

Butcher, told my old friend and

Antiques

Trade Gazette

colleague Terence Ryle,

“The thing about vesta cases, or match

safes* as Americans call them, is that

unlike, say, snuffboxes, they appeal to so

many people, not just those interested in

silver or bijouterie.”

Butcher notes that they were made in all

sorts of materials and depict a wide vari-

ety of subjects. “Every sport, every sort of

pet, animals, politics, the theatre, music,

every interest is catered for in either the

shape or in the enamelled decoration of

vesta cases.”

Collecting seems to be a worldwide

enthusiasm and Lawrences recorded bids

from collectors in 26 different countries

for an auction that Butcher said “comes

along only once in about twenty years,”

making reference to a sale that he had

conducted at Christie’s South Kensington

in 1998.

Picking my way through the catalogue,

I selected some 24 vesta cases that include

a number of the best-selling examples

and, I hope, demonstrate something of

the variety of the collection. Most of the

vesta cases or match safes illustrated are

around 1½" to 2" tall or long, sometimes

a little more, but where dimensions are

significantly different, they are noted in

the description.

Probably a more apt name, given

the uncertain incendiary nature of early

matches.

Like the “Old Friends” case, this case was

made by Horton & Allday of Birmingham,

but in 1910. A “Sirius” patent case, it is

enamelled to the front with a scene from an

18th-century cricket match and brought a

double estimate winning bid of $1391.

Formed as a stack of old

English sixpence pieces and

bearing uncertain maker’s

marks, E J & S(?), this circa

1888 Birmingham case made

considerably more than

expected, $732.

Bearing a mis-struck Birming-

ham mark for W(?)H, this

1908 vesta case is enamelled

to the front with a stylised

knot and to the reverse

bears what may be

the original owner’s

monogram. It sold

for $556.

The “Old Friends” referred to on

this 1903 vesta case by Horton &

Allday of Birmingham are the bot-

tle of beer, glass and pipe on the

enamelled front. It sold for $395.

Bearing the 1898 London

mark of Sampson Mordan

& Co., this unusual case

takes the form of a smiling

(man in the moon?) face

with glass eyes. It sold for

$995.

Enamelled to the front with a

gentleman riding a penny-far-

thing bicycle, this late Victorian

case bears the 1881 maker’s

mark of J.H. Thomas of Bir-

mingham. It sold for $673.

The rare, late Victorian brass

“Go to Bed” vesta case in the

form of a lantern, complete

with suspension ring, almost 3"

high, brought $644.

Of Continental European origin and

bearing French duty marks for the

period 1910-15, this vesta case is

enamelled with a scene from a veteran

car race or rally. It sold for $732.

Two and a half inches long, this

unusual late 19th-century brass

vesta case in the form of a leather

glove sold for $454.

The enamelled flags on the front

of this 1894 vesta case signal “I

will carry a light,” according to

Lawrences. Bearing the registered

design No. 59781, the case was

made by Fredrick Edmonds of

London and sold at $644.

This Edwardian novelty vesta case in the form of

a pig, realistically detailed and textured, was made

by Adie & Lovekin Ltd. of Birmingham in 1908. It

sold for $761.