Porcelain Repro Antique Bistro Matchstriker

In the days before safety matches and cigarette lighters, matchstrikers were to be found on every table of every café, bistrot and bars in France. Known as pyrogènes in French, literally "fire makers", the makers of drinks quickly realised their potential for advertising to a captive audience surrounded by the products themselves! The matchstrikers were made from porcelain, formed in such a way to hold matches in the centre, and provide a rough area to strike the matches, either an unglazed part of the surface, or sometimes a wooden insert. This reproduction matchstriker is of the highest quality, and is well suited as part of a decorative table centre-piece. The matches depicted in the photograph are for illustrative purposes only. If you would like to use your pyrogène, both form and function can come to your table: compatible matches are still available as Swan Vestas in the UK and Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches in the USA.