What’s a matchbook collector to do? Ever since the dangers of smoking have permeated our consciousness, distribution of the plebeian matchbook by business establishments has become increasingly limited. Throw in the smoking ban that went into effect in Montgomery County last fall, and the future existence of these utilitarian pieces of advertising ephemera–especially those that document Silver Spring business establishments–has become tenuous.

But 50-plus years ago, when it seemed that everyone had a "cig" dangling from the lip, matchbooks were as common as cicadas. Not surprising considering that matchbooks had been around since the late 19th century, having been first introduced in the United States in 1889 by Philadelphia lawyer Joshua Pusey–a delicious irony, considering all of the smoking litigation cases recently flooding the courts!

Vintage matchbooks have become an increasingly popular collectible and a good alternate source for documenting the business history of a community. If you have any old matchbooks, or plan on saving them, just make sure you remove the matches from the booklets before storing them away! Illustrated here are a few examples from my collection of matchbooks advertising downtown Silver Spring establishments in business from the 1940s and ‘50s.

1. Crisfield Sea Food Restaurant, located at 8012 Georgia Avenue since 1945. "Whether you take it home or eat it here our sea food is tops." Note that the address is indicated as Georgia Avenue "N.W." (a Washington, DC only usage) and "Silver Springs" (examples of the extra "s" have been documented as early as the 1920s). Crisfield today no longer supplies matchbooks.

2. Morningside Laundry & Dry Cleaning Co., 8250 Georgia Avenue. "The answer to your every laundry, dry cleaning problem is Morningside." Morningside also had a "drive in station" at 8624 Georgia Avenue, where you could drive up and an attendant would take the bundle of clothes from your car. The main office was located in the Cissel Building, now a playground and parking lot.

3. Senate Lunch, 8504 Georgia Avenue. "Good food and drinks…steaks and chops." There’s that extra "s" again! Senate Lunch was located directly south of Tastee Diner, on today’s plaza in front of the Discovery Communications headquarters building. A 1946 photograph on display at Tastee (now located on Cameron Street) shows the diner being installed with the two-story building next door having a sign painted on the wall reading, "Senate Lunch–A good place to eat–Peter Nasou owner." Nasou was born in Turkey in 1888, came to the United States in 1911, and settled in Silver Spring in 1933, where he operated restaurants here and in Takoma Park until his death in 1956. He lived at 725 Dartmouth Avenue in Silver Spring.

4. The Bank of Silver Spring, 8665 Georgia Avenue. The logo of the bank was the circa-1850s acorn-shaped gazebo, a gift of Silver Spring founder Francis Preston Blair to his wife Eliza. The gazebo is still located in Acorn Park, located off East-West Highway at Newell Street. The bank building is currently occupied by the District Court of Maryland, which will soon be moving to its new facility on Second Street at Apple Avenue. Future plans for this 1950s structure are unknown.

5. Chesapeake Seafood Co., 908 Thayer Avenue. "Oysters, clams, softcrabs, shrimp, hard crabs, crabmeat, scallops." This wholesale and retail seafood company was owned by Captain White and managed by Mr. Stevens. (Can anyone provide additional information on these two men?) Today, Thai Market occupies the address.

6. Shanghai Chinese-American Restaurant, 1201 Fidler Lane. "Family dinners in the Chinese manner." Shanghai Restaurant was established in the late 1930s by L.S. "Loui" and Leathea Ling and was originally located in the Silver Spring Shopping Center. In 1951, the business relocated to Fiddler Lane and took up occupancy in a bungalow, where it remained in operation until 2000, when the business was sold. Today, Cubanos occupies the structure. Look for the roof of the bungalow jutting out of the later addition that encased the original structure.

These matchbooks also offer a history of early telephone exchanges used in the Silver Spring area: Shepherd (74-XXX), Sligo (75-XXX), and Juniper (58X-XXXX). (Were there others?)

If you can share with the Silver Spring Historical Society any vintage Silver Spring matchbooks you have, or provide additional information, photographs, or memora-bilia on any of the businesses or individuals mentioned here, please contact SSHS at P.O. Box 1160, Silver Spring, MD 20910-1160, email sshistory@yahoo.com, or call 301-565-2519. The society’s web site is www.sshistory.org. Future historians will thank you!