Bryant And May Match Makers Of Bow , London

A scarce little booklet called Fun Among The Matches , containing 12 pages illustrated in colour.
It was published by Bryant & May match makers probably in the 1880s . The contents show games and puzzles that could be played with matches . The back cover is an advertisement regarding supporting Home Industries and inside back cover shows a full page illustration of the Fairfield Works at Bow , London .

The company, Bryant and May, was founded with the specific aim of making only Safety Matches .They were influential in fighting against the dreadful disease known as Phossy jaw which was caused by white Phosphorus used in the manufacture of the early matches. They started in 1861, on a dilapidated site in Bow which had once been used for the manufacture of Candles , Crinolene & Rope . This site was gradually expanded as a model factory.

However the public were initially unwilling to buy the more expensive safety matches so they also had to make the traditional Lucifer Matches.
They were the target of the London matchgirls strike of 1888 which was led by Annie Besant, which was part of the suffragette movement and one of the defining moments in trade union history and they won important improvements in working conditions and pay for the mostly female workforce .