Match Striker
Gallery 
Match Striker
Gallery |
Manufactures
(click to view match strikers and company history)
Charles Allerton &
Sons
Arkinstall & Sons Ltd (Arcadian China) Beswick Birks, Rawlins & Co W.T. Copeland & Sons Ltd (Spode) Doulton & Co Ltd Dudson Empire Porcelain Co (Ltd) Fieldings & Co Grimwades Ltd (Royal Winton) F. & W. Goebel Co Gouda Ralph Hammersley & Son  Edward Jones & Co Ltd Lister Lovatt & Lovatt James MacIntyre & Co Manor Ware Mintons Olivant Potteries Ltd F. & R. Pratt & Co (Ltd) Price, Bristol Prinknash Abby Pottery A.G. Richardson & Co Ltd (Crown Ducal) Salopian Art Pottery Co "Victoria" Schmidt & Co (GEMMA) Shelley Potteries Ltd Soho Pottery Ltd Taylor, Tunnicliff & Co Unknown Makers Watcombe Wedgwood Wiltshaw & Robinson (Carlton Ware) (1) Wiltshaw & Robinson (Carlton Ware) (2) W. Wood & Co Composite Section
(brings together information on types of match striker from elsewhere on the site) Advertising Match Strikers Crested Match Strikers |
The firm Lovatt & Lovatt was established from Calvert & Lovatt in 1895, operating from the Langly Mill works in Derbyshire. They produced domestic, art and industrial pottery. In 1931 the company was renamed Lovatt Potteries, and in 1959 the company was taken over by Joseph Bourne of the Denby Pottery. In 1967 the firms name was changed again to Langly Pottery, and the Langly Mill site was finally closed down by Denby Pottery in 1982. Throughout it's history the company tended to focus on low to middle price wares. Marks
Lovatt & Lovatt used a wide variety of marks on their match strikers (many
of them impressed rather than printed). I believe the "England"
mark shown below is unique to Lovatt & Lovatt wares, and this is the only
mark found on many of their match strikers. They also used a standard
"Made In England" stamp as shown in the last image.
        Crested Match Strikers
Lovatt & Lovatt made match strikers with raised shields painted with a coat of arms, although they are relatively crude in comparison to those of Wiltshaw & Robinson (Carlton Ware). The two shown below are for Cambridge Colleges.   
Ball Style Match Strikers
The firm produced a wide variety of shades of plain ball
style match strikers. Most are around 7.5 cm high, but some can be found in
smaller sizes like the match striker in the second to last image which is 5cm
high. All I have seen a hole running down from the match well to underside of
the striker. This could be part of the manufacturing process, or if the striker
is upturned and a lit match is placed in the hole it could be as a
"go-to-bed" (shown in the last image).
        Dome style match strikers The firm produced several slight variants in this style. There were also size variants (the first match striker pictures is 11 cm across, the second and third are 8 cm across).    Match strikers with ash trays Many match strikers were produced that incorporated an ash tray of some sort. This could have been used as a ash tray or to put the hot, spent match on so as to protect your furniture. The two tone green match striker is stamped 'Leadless Glaze' which presumably indicates it is relatively late (after lead glaze was banned).             Advertising Match Strikers The first image is that of a ball style slab seal advertising match striker which is a new favorite of mine. The next two images show badly damaged examples of two more slab seal style advertising match strikers. The next image is of an attractive blue advertising match striker for Mumby's Ginger Ale (by appointment to His Majesty the King, which help to date it), followed by one of a damaged slab seal match striker advertising the Northern Counties China Warehouse (the restoration is wrong and needs to be redone), Kendal and two pictures of an interesting example advertising John Sharp, High St Riddings, for Household Requisites. Finally an advert for Dove & Phillips Tables Waters.          This match striker is also an advertising piece, although not of the slab seal type. It promotes Albert Holroyd, Glass Merchant, of Bradford (thanks to Paul Broomfield for the picture and permission to use it on the website)  Tobacco Jars & Match Strikers This Tobacco jar has a shield shaped pocket on the front to contain matches, the front of the shield is unglazed so may have been intended as a striking surface, alternatively it may originally have had a university crest painted on it, with matches being struck on the side of the jar. The base of the jar shows a registered design number (115608) which dates the original design of this jar to 1888 (but of source it could have been made later). It also has a stamp for 'Ball's Alma Mater Tobacco Jar : Cambridge', however I am uncertain whether this refers to the whole design of the jar, or just a part of it (e.g. sealing mechanism, shield pocket etc)   Spill Vase (or long match holder) The following example is about 6 inches high, and was probably a spill vase, but could have been used for long stemmed matches, it is unmarked but is in the same design as the floral pattern ball match striker above  |
