Matchcover glossary F

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F — An abbreviation for the front portion of a matchcover.
F.A.A. — An abbreviation for Federal Aviation Administration.
F.O.E. — An abbreviation for “Fraternal Order of Eagles” also called “Eagles,” a fraternal organization which had many varieties of matchcovers. (See Fraternal).
FS — Abbreviation for Front Striker.
FSB — Abbreviation for The Front Striker Bulletin.
Fabrica Nacional de Fosforos — A Central American match book manumark from the Dominican Republic.
Face — A general term for the printed side of the matchcover.
Faces — As applied to matchcovers, it means any single design or advertising message on the front side of the matchcover. Each manufacturer’s run uses a single face. (See Run). A set of 20 matchcovers from the same advertiser will have 20 faces, while a case of 2,500 match books for the same restaurant will have one face.
Fairs — Generally speaking, matchcovers from any World’s Fair or Expo., to include county, state, or local fairs as well. Crossovers might include hotels or restaurants outside of the fair grounds that mention the Fair.
Fancy (Types) — Any or all matchcovers with other than an ordinary size or surface finish. (i.e., Jewelites, Filigrees, Foilites, Uniglos, etc.). (See Add-ons).
Fairburn, William A. — President of Diamond Match Co. from 1915-1947.
Far East Match Co. — A Asian match book manumark from the Philippines. Their factory is located in Manila.
Feature — A Lion Match Co. trademark for a match book containing wide match sticks that were printed with lettering, designs or a combination of both (not to be confused with printed sticks). The standard 30-stick size matchcover held 21 wide stick feature match sticks (referred to as 21-Feature) while the 20-stick size matchcover held 15 wide match sticks. Introduced Sept. 1930. (See Printed Sticks, Thirty Stick).
Feature Match Book — A current manumark owned by the Lion Corporation of America (formerly Lion Match Co. of Chicago). There are over 125 different manumark variations used for this one kind of match book. (See Feature).
Feature-Type Matches — Any or all match books made in the style of the Lion Match Co. Feature, but without the registered trademark of that company. Bryant & May in England produced this kind of match, after being patented in that country in 1933. Made by several U.S. Companies.
Feature-ettes — A Maryland Match Co. limited stock design offering of five business related, eye-catching color designs. All recommended front cover copy of four to five lines. (See Stock Design).
Federal Match Co. — An old, defunct match company that started in 1923, and had headquarters located in New York City. It was one of the companies that produced both “tall” and standard size matchcovers. Universal Match Corp. absorbed this company between 1939 and 1940. Formed by the consolidation of nine smaller match companies.
Federal Match Co., Div. Universal Match Corp. — An old, defunct company manumark used during the absorption of Federal Match Co. into Universal Match Corp. (ca. 1940).
Federal Match Co. Pty. — This Australian company was formed in 1913 in Alexandria, Sydney, New South Wales. It closed in December 1975, and used the excise mark 1/4.
Federal Prtg. Co. — An old, defunct printing company located in Chicago, IL that specialized in printing match books.
Federal Trucks Girlies — A brightly colored series of seven girlie stock designs issued between 1941 and 1947 by the Ohio Match Company.
Fiat Lux — A South American match book manumark from Brazil.
Filigree — A Universal Match Corp. trademark for matchcovers that had a waxy surface coating, spattered in a random manner over the entire surface of the matchcover. This trademark was first used in 1969 and there are approximately 5800 different known matchcovers. In 1979, the waxy coating was changed to include three new patterned designs. Fleur de Lis consisted of the French Fleur de Lis design. Grain was slightly wavy lines running the length of the matchcover. Tear Drop was a pattern, which looked like fishnet. All were discontinued in 1987. (See Florentine).
Flexi-Color — A Maryland Match Co. series offering specific color preferences (green, ivory, red, white), ideal for stock cuts or copy.
Fire Departments — A minor matchcover category showing fire fighting equipment, or advertising a volunteer or regular fire station.
Fireplace Matches — A relatively modern type of stick match usually over 8 in. long, used for starting conventional fireplace fires. Also called Barbecue Matches.
First Baseball — A set of baseball players matchcovers issued in 1934 by The Diamond Match Co. The complete set consists of 200 different baseball players, each with four different colors backgrounds including blue, green, orange and red (deep tones). Of 800 possible matchcovers, collectors have reported 655.
First Football (Silver Set) — A set of football players matchcovers, which was issued in 1933 by The Diamond Match Co. The football player appears on the front. The background of each player’s matchcover is silver with either green or pink appearing under the descriptive data on the back. There is one oddity included with the 185 matchcovers in this set (an issue for the All-American board of Football). The data on the back of each matchcover gives the 1932 records of the various players.
First Movies (Type I) — A set of Motion Picture Stars matchcovers issued between 1934 and 1935 by The Diamond Match Co. The star’s picture appears in full face on the front of the matchcover, paneled to present a picture frame in gilt and black. The star’s name appears in script across the saddle, and the back gives a brief history of the star’s career. Colors include: green, silver, orchid, blue and red, in deep shades. The two line manumark reads: THE DIAMOND MATCH COMPANY/NEW YORK and only ten matchcovers are known. This was also known as the “Test Set.”
First Movies (Type II) — A set of Motion Picture Stars matchcovers issued by The Diamond Match Co. As in First Movies (Type I) the stars appear in full face in a rectangular gilt frame only. Several of the photos appear with hand tinted hair and clothing. Colors include green, dark blue, red, silver and orchid as in First Movies (Type I). The two line manumark read: THE DIAMOND MATCH CO./NEW YORK, and there are 32 known matchcovers in this set.
First Movies (Type III) — A set of Motion Picture Stars matchcovers issued by The Diamond Match Co. Similar to First Movies (Type II), this set included several different backgrounds for each star. Colors include: light blue, orchid, red, green and silver. The two line manumark read: THE DIAMOND MATCH CO./ N.Y.C. There are 95 known matchcovers with two oddities.
First Names — A relatively new matchcover category in which the first name of a man or woman must appear. It can be the name of a restaurant, or the proprietor, manager, etc.
First Nite-Life — A set of famous nite life personalities matchcovers issued around 1938 by The Diamond Match Co. Each shows a small square picture of the performer on the front with sketched champagne glasses and undulating music bars at the left and above the picture. The performer’s name appears in script across the saddle, and the back gives a brief history of the performer’s career, enclosed in a black border. A phantom picture of diners at a table is imprinted over the history. Colors include: green, pink, peach, orchid and red. There are 24 matchcovers in the complete set, and each has a two line manumark imprint: Made in U.S.A./THE DIAMOND MATCH CO., N.Y.C. All matchcovers in this set have black tips. (See Second Nite-Life).
Flair — A Maryland Match Corp. trademark for matchcovers with the look
of a textured material. (See Pearltone).
Flamlux — A European matchcover manumark from Switzerland.
Flasher — Another name for Lenticular matchcovers or matchboxes.
Flats — Matchcover factory stock that never contained matches or were never machine creased or stapled. Used primarily as salesman’s samples, flats usually exhibited the best quality design and registration. Infrequently collected in the US and Canada, but more widely sought in overseas countries. (See Salesman’s Samples).
Fleur de Lis — (See Filigree).
Flexibles — The name given to the first safety matches, invented by Joshua Pusey in 1889, with the striker on the inside of the match book.
Florentine — A Universal Match Corp. trademark for matchcovers that had a waxy surface coating in a specific patterned design that doesn’t cover any printing on the matchcover. There are about 175 varieties known. (See Filigree).
Florentine Gold — An American Match Co. (OH) trademark.
Florida Match Co. — An old, defunct match company.
Florida Souvenir Set — This set consists of eight matchcovers (four in red and four in green) issued by The Diamond Match Co., about 1935. At least four variations of the set exist. Later issues were produced with four red and four blue matchcovers with at least two variations.
Foilite — A Universal Match Corp. trademark for matchcovers (usually 30-stick), which had portions of the lettering or design printed with colored metallic foil. Used extensively for Christmas matchcovers, the word “foilite” often appears on the inside, and the first letter “f” is not capitalized. Production of this matchcover stopped in 1987.
Folder — An older term for a matchcover. (See Match Folder).
Football — (See First Football, Second Football, Third Football, Fourth Football).
Footer — Wording which occurs at the lower portion of the front panel.
Footline — A match company’s term for the manumark. This is the area on a front striker matchcover between the striker and the back where a company name was usually printed. (See Manumark).
For Safety — A generic safety phrase placed on the footer (lower left portion of the front). Various match companies used it. Generally followed by CCBS. Used in the 1920s in most cases, but examples from the 1930s and 1940s are known.
For Your Safety/Striking Surface on Other Side — (See SOB Warnings).
For your Safety/ Turn Over for Striking Surface — (See SOB Warnings).
Foreign — Any or all matchcovers, match books, or matchboxes that were manufactured in a foreign country (outside the United States but not including Canada) or that advertise a business establishment, product or service for use or sale in that foreign country. The manumark should be from a foreign country and in some cases, a tax stamp may be present. For match books, the sticks are sometimes straw or wooden.
Foreign Sets — Any and all sets that pertain to the definition of Foreign (See Foreign).
Forts — (See Military).
Forty-Strike — A match book size that is twice as large as the regular (20-stick) match book. It contains 40 match sticks. (See Royal Flash, Billboard, Double Size). (written as 40-stick).
Fosforera Centroamericana, S.A. — A Central American match book manumark from Guatemala.
Fosforera el Inca — A South American match book manumark from Peru.
Fosforera Equatoriana S.A. — A South American match book manumark from Ecuador.
Fosforera Peruanna, S.A. — A South American match book manumark from Peru.
Fosforera Suramericana, C.A. — A South American match book manumark from Venezuela.
Fosforera Venezolana — A South American match book manumark from Venezuela.
Fosforeira Portuguese Esphino — A European match book manumark from Portugal.
Fosforera Espanola, S.A. — A European match book manumark from Spain.
Fosforos Sol, S.A. — A Central American match book manumark from the Dominican Republic.
Fosforos Universal — A Caribbean match book manumark from Cuba.
Foster, Lee — Sales manager of Superior Match Co, Chicago, in the 1940s. He wrote a series of salesman’s guides and Superior’s “The Story of Fire.”
Four Color — Any and all matchcovers that have a real photo-like colour photo on the back, front or inside.
Fourth Baseball — A set of baseball players matchcovers issued in 1938 by The Diamond Match Co. The complete set consists of 42 matchcovers. Except for the fact that the historical printing on the back is smaller, it is the same set as the Third Baseball. Most of the matchcovers are printed in brown ink except for three that are printed in black ink.
Fourth Football — A set of football players matchcovers, which was issued in 1938, by The Diamond Match Co. The overall background color is silver and each player is shown in a head and shoulder photo. The back of the matchcover shows a brief description of the player’s history printed over a panel with a bright red (all are Chicago “Bears”) background color on 12 matchcovers, and a deep blue (all are Detroit “Lions”) background color on the other 12 matchcovers. The printing is in white. The saddle bears each player’s name and his team, imprinted over a light tan football. The two line manumark for this colourful 24 matchcover set reads: Made in U.S.A./THE DIAMOND MATCH CO. N.Y.C.
Franklin Adv. Nov. Co. — An old, defunct advertising specialty company located in Dayton, OH, which sold match books. This is one of the companies that sold “tall” and standard size matchcovers.
Fraternal — A matchcover category whose advertisement mentions any number of national fraternal organizations (i.e., Lions, V.F.W., Eagles, American Legion, Moose, etc.). Some collectors do not include Elks in this category. Most are stock matchcovers, collected by lodge or chapter number.
Freebee Table — A table usually set aside at a matchcover club meeting where members can take matchcovers or match books for their collection, at no charge to themselves. Members also make contributions in number and kind to this table. (See Grabber, Easy Matchcovers).
Freight Lines — (See Ship Lines).
Friction (also Friction Strip) — Another name for striker. Also, the process that causes a match to ignite. (See Striker).
Friction Match — First patented in the U.S. in 1836.
Front — The portion of the matchcover between the saddle and the bottom. (See F).
Front Cover Striker — A matchcover design that had the striker on the front, forcing the user to close the front flap against the match book in order to strike the match. It had a relatively short lived trial, judging from the number of matchcovers that have survived. Both 20-stick and 30-stick sizes are known, with about 50 varieties reported so far. Introduced by Universal Match Corp. in the mid-1950s.
Front Flap — The outermost portion at the bottom of a closed matchcover. This part of the matchcover contains the striker on front striker matchcovers.
Front Panel — (See Front).
Front Striker (Front Strike) — A matchcover in which the striker zone appears on the front flap of the match book, and is in fact at the end of the matchcover. (See Back Striker).
Front Striker Bulletin (The) — A nationally recognized matchcover newsletter concerning itself with matchcovers, and the history of the hobby and the industry. It is the publication of The American Matchcover Collecting Club. Memberships available by writing to: AMCC, PO Box 18481, Asheville, NC 28814-0481. E-mail: bill@matchcovers.com.
Full Book — As shipped by the manufacturer, match books with all of the original match sticks. For collectors, the term Full Book means the same; however, the striker must be unstruck. In general, full books are not widely collected due to increased space requirements and problems with trading by mail.
Full Length — A matchcover category with its message [words and/or picture(S)] running the full length of the matchcover.
Full Length (Horizontal) — A full length matchcover that has to be turned sideways in order for the message to be read. The striker may either be left or right of the message. (See Horizontal, Vertical).
Full Length (Vertical) — A full length matchcover whose message may be read while holding the open matchcover in a vertical position (from tip to tip). The striker is usually at the top.
Full Length Diners — (See Diners).
Full View — Another term for Full Length (either horizontal or vertical).
Funeral Homes — A matchcover category whose advertisement mentions funeral parlors, funeral homes, casket makers, or funeral accouterments.
Fusee Matches — Name used in the mid to late 1800s for wax vesta matches.