[1] A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designed to hold matches.It usually has a coarse striking surface on one edge for lighting the matches contained inside.After World War II a lot of match factories worked in close contact with local phillumenists, issuing special non-advertising sets.Widespread introduction of bulky (for collectors) cardboard matchboxes with less distinct images on them, much poorer quality of print and, also some social phenomena, made this hobby (like many others, not connected with commerce) much less engaged.In Portugal, Jose Manuel Pereira published a series of albums to catalog and display matchbox collections called "Phillalbum".
