Natural History Museum – The Great Barrier Reef Box of Matches

The Archivist story began in 1998, deep in the archives of the Natural History Museum — a connection they’re proud to honour to this day. In 2025, they paid tribute to their origins with a stunning collaborative collection of matchboxes inspired by the wonders of the natural world.

This particular design draws from the exquisite illustrations found in The Great Barrier Reef of Australia by William Saville-Kent (1845–1908). A pioneering English marine biologist and author, Saville-Kent devoted years to capturing the beauty and mystery of the reef’s corals through his detailed drawings and paintings — works that revealed a hidden world still little known at the time.

Beautifully presented, this matchbox makes a fabulous, fun, and practical gift for any occasion — a piece of history that’s striking in every sense.

• Contains 125 matches, each measuring 100mm long

• Box dimensions: 110 × 110 × 50 mm

• Stick colour may vary from image shown

• UK delivery only