As many of the artisans were wanderers or lower-class artisans, the learning and executing of this style of craftsmanship was often shared communally within the shared spaces of the impoverished. Items were usually made for personal use only and not for commercial sale, and it is believed that these techniques spanned almost 40 ethnic groups within the U.S. during the turn of the century. Pocket knives and scrap woods (often from old crates) were the only required materials, and these could be used with chipping and whittling techniques to create beautiful, intricate designs. Matches were among the cheapest of materials, and if saved in excess, could be used as decorative inlay or as structural components to objects with squared edges.
Matchsticks were commonly used in picture frame creation, stacked in square bundles one on top of the other. Some matchstick frames were made in other shapes, such as the star of David, and were laid at angles to create a more dramatic wood design. Antique collectors have found many other intricate matchstick designs, such as model boats and jewelry boxes. Larger pieces of furniture were also inlaid with designs created by matchsticks to hide cheap materials such as plywood, and were often used in layers and different shades of brown to create ornate patterns.
Many matchstick creations that have existed from this era are largely religious. Framed or solitary crosses were often made with matchsticks, or surrounded by matchstick bases for decorative effect. Crosses and elaborate shrines made of matchsticks are sometimes more well preserved than other forms of tramp art due to their religious connotations. Many Jewish populations also used matchstick techniques to create Stars of David and relics related to Judaism.
This style was not named "tramp art" until well into the 1950s, at which point it had mostly disappeared as a practice. Although it is unclear as to why this is, many speculate that the decline of smoking culture may have contributed to the disappearance of common matchstick and cigar-box designs. This is also the time when most cigar manufacturers began using cardboard boxes rather than wooden boxes, as they were cheaper to produce and wooden boxes could not be reused within the cigar industry. With fewer traditional materials (matches, wooden boxes) many artisans may have changed styles or abandoned the practice, thus ending the period of "tramp art" production that many are intrigued by today.