Silver vesta cases first started to appear in the 1840’s soon after the invention of the safety match and had their golden age in the 1890-1914 period before becoming redundant when petrol lighters appeared in the 1920’s.
They take their name from Vesta, the Roman goddess of fire, although in the USA they are known as match safes. They feature a steel striker plate and a snap-shut cover to keep the matches dry enabled by a simple brass spring down the inside spine of the box.
