Name/Title
Sunshine Laundry & Cleaners MatchbookEntry/Object ID
2018.6.16Description
Full matchbook used to promote Sunshine Laundry and Cleaners. The exterior depicts the laundry’s 1415 Gervais Street location in red, white, blue, and yellow ink and features the words “'Bundles of Satisfaction,’” “1415 Gervais St. Phone 6667 Columbia, S.C.,” “Charlie Stork Lloyd Hamiter,” and “Close Cover Before Striking.” The interior depicts the laundry’s 1500 Woodrow Street location in black ink and features the words “Sunshine Laundry and Cleaners 1500 Woodrow St. Columbia, S.C.” and “Phone 2-3349.” Twenty matches remain attached to the book.Context
In 1937, Columbia residents Charles “Charlie” Stork (1913-1999) and Lloyd Hamiter (1907-1964) founded Sunshine Laundry and Cleaners at 1804 Main Street. Both had prior experience in the laundry and dry-cleaning business, with Stork previously working as a cleaner at Free Bros. Dry Cleaning at 1117 Gervais Street and Hamiter previously working as a cleaner at Superior Dry Cleaners and Dryers at 1510 Sumter Street. The very successful Sunshine Laundry and Cleaners quickly expanded to include several locations in the Columbia area. The plant at 1500 Woodrow Street opened in 1939. Nearly a decade later, in 1948, the company opened an additional plant at 1415 Gervais Street. In a time when nearly half of American adults smoked cigarettes, matchbooks like this one were an easy way to accommodate customers and advertise business, and they were given to customers as they retrieved their laundered and dry-cleaned clothes.Made/Created
Date made
circa 1948 - circa 1952Dimensions
Dimension Description
ClosedWidth
2 inLength
1-1/2 inDimension Description
OpenedWidth
4 inLength
1-1/2 in
