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Antique 1907 Birmingham silver vesta case by Henry Wilkinson & co
4 cm tall 3 1/2 cm wide opens with a lovely click lovely engraving in front minor age related marks we have 7 vestas in stock may sell all together or pairs etc please contact us for pricing etc
vesta case, or simply a "vesta", is a small box made to house wax, or "strike anywhere", matches. The first successful friction match appeared in 1826, and in 1832 William Newton patented the "wax vesta" in England.[1] It consisted of a wax stem with embedded cotton threads and a tip of phosphorus. Newton named his matches after Vesta, the Roman goddess of fire and the hearth. Small containers to house these friction matches were introduced shortly afterwards (in the early 1830s), to guard against accidental combustion. In England these containers took their name from the term Newton used for his invention, and they became known as "vesta cases", "vesta boxes" or simply "vestas". In America the more prosaic yet more descriptive term "match safes" was chosen.
We have 4 vesta cases for sale
