research: the history of matchboxes

Ben Jones writes:

As part of my Typography and Graphic Communication degree course I was required to write a 20,000 word dissertation. The subject I chose to write about was the history and evolution of the matchbox cover/label from its beginnings in 1827 to the present day.

You can access Ben's terrific paper here.  Of special interest are the first two sections of the paper covering the history of the match industry and matchbox production.