{"id":141781,"date":"2026-03-18T15:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/141781\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:27:08","slug":"phillys-america250-celebrations-honor-local-cigar-smoker-who-invented-matchbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/141781\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly’s America250 celebrations honor local cigar smoker who invented matchbooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The matchbook \u2014 that once-ubiquitous tool for lighting cigarettes, candles, campfires and all manner of flammable objects \u2014 takes a starring role this week in Philadelphia\u2019s year-long celebration of the city\u2019s innovations and inventions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A festival in Old City on Saturday will commemorate the creation of the matchbook in 1892 by Joshua Pusey<\/a>, a Philadelphia attorney and Delaware County resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a big cigar smoker, and he was really frustrated with existing match technology,\u201d said Jesse Smith, director of the museum at the Science History Institute. \u201cThese were wooden, they were carried in large, bulky boxes. So what he did is, he pulled together three different innovations in his matchbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jesse Smith, a vice president and the museum director at the Science History Institute, left, and artist Malachi Floyd stand next to a picture of a Firstival statue decorated by Floyd. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

Pusey replaced the wooden sticks with lightweight, flexible cardboard, tipped them with ignitable red phosphorus, and made the key advance of including a striking surface inside a folding matchbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After patenting his creation, he sold it to the Diamond Match Company. The company made some changes, such as moving the striking surface to the outside, so that lighting a match couldn\u2019t accidentally ignite the whole book. \u201cAnd once companies started using these for advertising, matchbooks took off,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Pusey was a commuter into Philadelphia, which historians believe \u201cinformed his work and his desire for a really lightweight, flexible match,\u201d Smith added. \u201cYou had a lot of historical threads coming together in this tiny, little, seemingly quotidian object.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A small but meaningful object\u2019<\/p>\n

The invention will be celebrated this Saturday, March 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Science History Institute at 315 Chestnut St. It\u2019s the latest event in the \u201c52 Weeks of Firsts\u201d \u2014 a year-long series of \u201cFirstivals\u201d the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee is putting on to celebrate the nation\u2019s 250th birthday and the city\u2019s central role in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

Every Saturday in 2026, the free events offer storytelling, performances, exhibits, souvenir giveaways and activities for kids and adults to celebrate innovations or \u201cfirsts\u201d that originated in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Recent Firstivals have commemorated the nation\u2019s first medical school for women<\/a>, first flower show<\/a>, and first authentic Chinatown Friendship Gate<\/a>, among other firsts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Festival-goers this Saturday can also check out artwork commissioned for the event. For each Firstival, an artist decorates a 5-foot foam statue, in the shape of a \u20181,\u2019 with images related to that week\u2019s theme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Malachi Floyd decorated a number 1 statue for this Saturday\u2019s Firstival event celebrating the invention of the matchbook by a Philadelphia attorney in 1892. (Photo by Gustavo Garcia\/Colibr\u00ed Workshop)<\/p>\n

For his statue, artist Malachi Floyd of Germantown drew overlapping matchbook shapes, images from Pusey\u2019s patent, and a hand holding a match over the smoke of a lit candle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The piece \u201creflects the cultural history and everyday ritual of the match folder, a small but meaningful object tied to travel, memory, and place,\u201d he said. \u201cThe design captures how simple items can become keepsakes that mark moments in time and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

First medical school, stadium and circus performance coming up<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the complete list of other firsts being highlighted this year, along with the upcoming Saturday Firstival dates and locations.<\/p>\n

Completed<\/p>\n

Week 1:\u00a0 Successful balloon flight in America (1793)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation\u2019s first folk parade (1901)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 7: Abolitionist society in America<\/a> (1775)<\/p>\n

Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America<\/a> (1984)<\/p>\n

Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America<\/a> (1688)<\/p>\n

Week 10: Flower Show<\/a> (1829)<\/p>\n

Week 11: Women\u2019s medical college<\/a> (1850)<\/p>\n

Upcoming<\/p>\n

\u2022 Matchbook (1892)
March 21, Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The first medical school in America (1765)
March 28, Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Civic Center Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stadium in America (1895)
April 4, Franklin Field, 235 S. 33rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Circus performance in America (1793)
April 11, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, 6452 Greene St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Botanical garden (1728)
April 18, Bartram\u2019s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Postmaster (1737)
April 25, Franklin Court, 322 Market St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
May 2, Ensemble Arts Philly, 300 S. Broad St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mother\u2019s Day (1908)
May 9, Historic St. George\u2019s Museum & Archives, 326 New St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hospital in America (1751)
May 16, Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 World\u2019s Fair on American soil (1876)
May 23, Please Touch Museum, 4231 Avenue of the Republic<\/p>\n

\u2022 Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
May 30, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 American flag (1777)
June 6, Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Army (1775)
June 13, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
June 20, Philly Pride Visitor Center, Lombard St. and S. 12th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters\u2019 Hall, 320 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Children\u2019s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today. The matchbook…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[44064,4000,564,32133,94,29269,8865,69,4001,71,48264,70,45869,9880],"class_list":["post-141781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-52-weeks-of-firsts","tag-america-250","tag-featured","tag-historic-philadelphia","tag-history","tag-mural-arts","tag-mural-arts-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-250","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-historic-district","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-science-history-institute","tag-semiquincentennial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}