A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have coarse striking surfaces on the edges for lighting the matches. Cylindrical matchboxes with a round cover on one end are also available.

There are metal matchboxes some of which also have a hollow cylinder in which a nitrated wick is housed so that it can ignite when it is windy.

The metal boxes have a scraper that is usually placed on the edge, in a slot made for this purpose. a sort of file that can be machined to the same metal casing or be a metal sheet, welded or glued.

In 1878 the patent document, nº 2191 class 44, was registered by Hannoversche Gummi-Kamm-Compagnie in Hannover, about a metallic matchbox, with the following text:

Patented in the German Empire on January 3, 1878.

The accompanying drawing shows:

Fig. 1 shows a section through the matchbox in the closed state;

Fig. 2 shows a section through the same in the open state;