Match World is a virtual museum devoted to the match. The museum houses an awesome online collection of matchbox labels from the late 1800s to the 1930s. The hundreds of labels in the virtual galleries are only a fraction of the 30,000 or so in the museum’s Rankei Library. The museum is operated by the Japan Match Manufacturers Association and the Japan Match Lateral Corporation.

Here are a few matchbox labels from the “Company Brand Matches” room:

Note: You can find more labels if you browse the “Database” (instead of browsing by “Category”). Click on the thumbnails for larger images and additional information. Part of the gallery’s interface is in Flash. Some browsers may not work very well on the site (I had problems with Firefox).

[Link: Match World Virtual Museum: Company Brand Matches Room]