'Pelican' YZ Bird Matchstick Holder w. Striker

A 'Pelican' YZ bird matchstick holder & striker designed by draftsman & cartoonist Bernard Charles Howell for Henry Howell & Co., 1925.  

The main body of this ‘Pelican’ is Macassar ebony, native to Southeast Asia. Dave Unwin, an authority on YZ novelties, suggests that the specific species of dark-red, black-striped ebony possibly came from the Andaman Islands, where the timber is known as Marble Wood or Zebra Wood.

The large semi-translucent red beak of the Pelican is made of what is commonly referred to as "cherry amber" Bakelite. More precisely, this is a phenol formaldehyde / phenolic polymer made using Faturan resin. 

Fitted into one side of the bird is a circular striker pad of fish skin shagreen, made from the skin of a ray or shark.

The fourth and final material the Pelican incorporates is glass. Attesting further to the quality of YZ products, the bird is fitted with cased glass eyes. A ball of black glass creates the pupil which has been backed by green glass before these layers are cased in clear glass. Most YZ creations had eyes of various shades of yellow, which makes this a rarer example.

Considering this Pelican’s more exquisite eyes in conjunction with the “cherry amber” beak & the Macassar ebony (used in the production of the most expensive walking sticks) it is plausible that this example was made for the luxury goods retailer Alfred Dunhill Ltd. That would date this Pelican to between 1925 & 1927 as Dunhill and Henry Howell’s collaboration only lasted for these two years.                               

Overall, as Ian Holdsworth (1) so articulately puts it, ‘the object speaks of a time of smoking cigarettes, of fun, of partying and of relief of a war over. It is decorative and tactile and new, yet vaguely reminiscent of a hieroglyph, so suitably art deco. It performs in an expensive way exactly the same function as a cheap matchbox but this only adds to its desirability. Its form, materials and use define its time.’ (2)

1. Ian Holdsworth is author of ‘YZ: the eccentric, idiosyncratic and unique product design of Henry Howell & Co.’ the definitive guide to YZ creations.

2. BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, in association w. the British Museum, 2010.