The Palmtree Impregnated Safety Match
Identifier
TBADC0006
Title
The Palmtree Impregnated Safety Match
Description
Small box of matches emblazoned with a Black figure in front of several palmtrees on a beach. The Black figure is holding a sickle and has a yoke across his shoulders with water jugs. The words 'The Palmtree' are in a stylised ribbon, with the text in yellow. At the bottom of the image is another navy blue banner with the words "impregnated safety match manufactured in Sweden" in a lighter blue.
Type
Cardboard Box
Relation
Facing Blackness is a multimedia exhibition that takes the public through the obscure history of portraying Black people from the colonial period to contemporary society. Using unique archive material and visual art, we show how anti-black racism became part of the Dutch 'cultural archive' and our everyday ideas, customs and utensils. On the other hand, the exhibition shows how there has always been 'everyday resistance' to various forms of racism and how Black people themselves have given and continue to give meaning to their culture and identity.
Source
The Black Archives
Format
Box of Matches
Subject
Black Slave
Coverage
Palmt Tees, Sickle, Sand, Beach, Yoke, Water Jugs
Date
c.1930s
Physical Dimensions
4x1.5x5
Country of Production
Sweden
Keywords
Matches, Cigarettes, Slaves, Plantations
Copyright
The Palmtree
Rightholder
The Palmtree
Archived By
Richard Weaver
Bibliography
http://strabic.fr/Graphisme-Philumenie-matchbox-The-Palmtree
Collection
Citation
“The Palmtree Impregnated Safety Match,” The Black Archives, accessed April 19, 2025, https://collection.theblackarchives.nl/items/show/3448.