Companies adding printed labels to their products may not be thinking about who could be looking at them in years to come and whether or not they will become a piece of history.

However, one man in Britain has shown that they could be, if they fall into the right hands.

Brian Griffin, 72, told the Hastings Observer he has been collecting the packaging from matches since 1950 and has now amassed a collection that fills 200 albums.

He started when he spotted one lying in the gutter as a schoolboy and has not stopped since, joining the British Matchbox Label and Booklet Society in 1964.

Mr Griffin even has some rare examples of packaging including booklet labels and hopes to turn one of the rooms of his house into a museum so that other people can appreciate the designs.

Matchbox and match label collecting, also known as phillumeny, has been a hobby since pre-Edwardian times, according to Matchbox-labels.co.uk.

Companies that want to make their packaging sought-after in future and perhaps even increase sales as a result could consider creating characters to go with their brand, as creations from Kellogg's and Robertson's jam have all proved to be collector's items.

Denny Bros Ltd, 03 August 2011