Sterling Silver Chased Vesta Case (Match Holder) from 1910

In excellent condition, the hinge opens and shuts securely.

• This vesta case is beautifully engraved to both the front and back and has DJS
• monogrammed to the front in a circular cartouche.
• Has a small ring and suspension ring on the side just underneath the hinge
• and the deep striker is on the bottom (not sure if it still works).
• Hallmarked: Made by Joseph Gloster Ltd in Lion Silver Works, Hockley Hill,
• Birmingham in 1910.
• Silver weight: 28.4g
• Size: 5cm tall and 4cm wide and 1cm deep.

Vesta was the Roman goddess of hearth and home, therefore the match company Swan named a brand of their short matches ‘Vestas’, which they began producing in 1906. A 'match' was known as a 'vesta' up until the twentieth century when 'match' became the favoured term. These short matches were not favourable for the common tasks of stove lighting or lighting candles for use in the home, however the shorter matches were perfect for lighting cigarette and pipes, and were less cumbersome to carry. Vesta cases were hugely popular in England between the 1860s and 1940s. They were carried predominantly by men- as smoking was then considered to be a masculine habit- and placed in the waistcoat pocket or on the end of a Double Albert chain, which held a pocket watch on one side and a vesta case on the other. SMS2725