W.B.Mac Iver & Co. Limited Liverpool

Rare large format matchbox label designed and published in Sweden of W.B.MacIver which were a British company originally established as Charles MacIver & Co., with its head office in Glasgow, 1875. After the bankruptcy of Charles MacIver in 1900 the company was registered with new owners, as W B MacIver and Company Ltd 20 November 1901. Its main premises were at Broad Street, Lagos, with branches throughout Nigeria and also at Duala in the Cameroons. It exported palm oil and traded in timber and rubber. It was acquired by Lever Brothers Ltd 1911

With the rapid growth of matchbox production at the start of the 20th century, label design became the key differential point between brands. This importance of branding acted as the catalyst to the creation of innovative and important label designs, with many influencing both the design and topography industry for years to come.