Match Collecting Has Become A New Yorker's Way Of Knowing The City
For Samantha Friedman, matchbooks are a guide to the city's best restaurants, and to the city itself.
Published
What started out as a silly little matchbook collection turned out to be much bigger than I originally intended after snagging just one from a hostess stand. What began as a hobby, sparked 100 in counting in under a month, thanks to my obsessive compulsive disorder. Naturally, when I have a slight interest in anything it takes hold of me, becoming my entire personality. It becomes something I can’t go a day without thinking about until I find a new hyperfixation.
Memories from various dive bars, iconic hotels, and downtown to uptown restaurants, each encapsulating a story of their own, sit in a porcelain bowl on my bedside table bearing the names, logos, and branding of spots that won’t always be around. My scavenger hunt through the streets resulted in a timepiece from this constantly evolving city. Gathering these tiny mementos helped me discover spots I never knew existed.