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Vesta case

Known as ‘match safes’ in the US, vesta cases are small portable boxes for keeping matches. Available in a wide variety and at different price levels, they have become a popular area of the collecting market.

Vesta cases first came into use in the 1830s but, as they became more sophisticated in terms of style and decoration, they came to represent important symbols of status, wealth and personality. Part of the essential 'dress code' of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, they were made in a range of materials including silver, enamel, gold or brass.

Read ATG's detailed guide to vesta cases here

Collector Interview: The very best of the vesta case world

17 July 2023

Businessman Nigel Ross runs a group of commercial property investment companies and divides his time between homes in England and Florida with business trips to New Zealand and elsewhere.

Strike two for Sampson & Mordan vesta cases

28 March 2022

The Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu sale at Dix Noonan Webb (25% buyer’s premium) in London on March 15 included more fine silver and enamel vesta cases by Sampson Mordan & Co to add to those sold by the firm in September 2021.

Pick of the week: Silver vesta case strikes a blow for the motor car

20 September 2021

This rare Victorian silver vesta case with an enamelled scene of an early tiller-driven automobile is hallmarked for Sampson Mordan & Co, London 1896.

Notable vesta case collection to light up Somerset saleroom a second time

02 January 2018

On January 15 Lawrences of Crewkerne will sell the second half of a remarkable collection of vesta cases or match safes pieced together over a 50 year period by the late John and Patricia McKenzie.

Vesta match cases fire up auction interest at Lawrences in Somerset

14 December 2016

Most collectors have a burning passion. For John and Patricia McKenzie, the items that fired their interest were vesta cases, the small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry.

Matchless collection of more than 1000 vesta cases

20 November 2012

It was the emergence of the very useful but somewhat hazardous ‘strike anywhere’ match in the 1830s that necessitated the fashion for vesta cases.

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