{"id":11175,"date":"2018-02-05T15:34:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/inserts.org.uk\/?page_id=11175"},"modified":"2018-11-01T17:26:02","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T17:26:02","slug":"the-inserts-explained","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/inserts.org.uk\/index.php\/introduction\/the-inserts-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inserts explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Examples of Inserts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inserts are small collectable cards (32 mm x 46 mm), each one showing an attractive image of an actress, a queen, a musician, a bullfighter, a politician or similar, which were included free-of-charge inside Spanish matchboxes<\/a><\/strong> between 1897 and 1910.<\/p>\n

At that time the Spanish match industry<\/strong><\/a> was run by a state-controlled monopoly, the Gremio de Fabricantes<\/strong><\/a>, which was following a trend started in cigarette papers and chocolate wrappers to entice people to collect entire Series of Inserts and therefore buy more matchboxes.<\/p>\n

A total of 37 different Series<\/strong><\/a> were issued, with 75 or more Inserts in each Series, making a grand total of 3,175 individual cards<\/strong> for collection (plus a few variants<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n

At one level this was a purely commercial exercise by the Gremio to increase their income. But at another level these lovely cards became highly collectable, and still are to this day. To encourage collectors, the Gremio published specially designed collectors’ albums<\/strong><\/a> and sheets.<\/p>\n

At the turn of the 20th Century households used lots and lots of matches – e.g. for lighting candles, domestic heating and for smoking. There was therefore a significant demand for matches, which the Gremio intended to capitalise on.<\/p>\n

Of course, fire has played an important role in the development of the human race. Since the invention of the friction match in 1826, matches and matchboxes have spread to all corners of the globe, turning match making into a multi-national, global industry. Click here<\/strong><\/a> for a brief history of the Spanish matchbox industry from 1838 to the present day.<\/em><\/p>\n

THE INSERT DESIGNS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Series number is highlighted in red, Insert number in Blue, subject in green<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each Insert is individually numbered within the Series<\/strong><\/a>. The Series number, Insert number and the title of the subject are always printed on the Insert, usually on the front but sometimes on the back of the Insert.<\/p>\n

The front of every Insert has an attractive photograph or drawing on it, depicting a subject from the Series theme (e.g. Actresses, Politicians, Royalty, Poets, Painters, Bullfighters), and the image is always framed by a border. Although the early Series have black and white images, later ones are in colour. <\/p>\n

The back of the Inserts are almost always blank, except for Series 29, 30, 31 and Special which contain text.<\/p>\n

There are two designs of the Inserts:<\/p>\n

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