Matchboxes ignite a collector's passion

There are matchboxes everywhere, on shelves, in glass cabinets, in boxes, all over the room. In fact, there are around 22,000 matchboxes from 132 different countries of the world. Some are carefully wrapped in cellophane and some packed in plastic boxes.

"It's easier collecting matchboxes in cold countries, but difficult here. The friction strip on one side where you strike the match gets spoilt," says collector Shakil Haq. That is why he carefully preserves the different boxes in different ways.

Shakil Haq's father was a collector too. He would collect all sorts of items. That's where Shakil Haq developed his interest in matchboxes. He had started his collection as a child, but most of those matchboxes didn't last as they weren't preserved properly. After a long gap, his interest in matchboxes was ignited again in 2012 and this time he got down to it in all seriousness.

After collecting matchboxes from all over the world, Shakil turned to his own country's boxes. Being a graphics and interior designer, he took up designing the little boxes and taking them to the various match manufacturers. Two companies used 15 of his designs for their matchboxes. He provided the designs for free. He also designed over 500 matchboxes for collectors and out of his own passion. In fact, he even had the boxes made with his own money.

His matchboxes had the pictures of famous personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Preetilata Waddedar, Che Guevara, Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe. He has also used artist Murtaza Bashir's work to make a triangular matchbox.

In2018 Shakil held a solo exhibition of his collection at Drik Gallery. He says, "The matches in my collection are all functional. That's why I keep them very carefully. I plan on setting up a full-fledged museum for this in the future so people can come and enjoy the collection."

Come, let's grab a look at Shakil Haq's magical matchbox collection.

This matchbox from Poland is from around 20 years ago. It's the biggest box in Shakil's collection. The match is used mainly to ignite phosphorous. This box holds 1000 one-inch matches. He got this Polish matchbox from a collector of Slovenia.

The smallest matchbox in Shakil's collection is just one fourth of an inch. Shakil says, according to the maker, there are only two of these boxes in the world. The other one is with collector Sunil Bhatt in Bhopal of Maharashtra, India. Sunil had made these two matchboxes to create a world record. He later gave one to Shakil.

Shakil has a matchbox from World War II times, used to light firewood. He bought this matchbox at an auction in Sweden. These matches are tipped with a thick coating of gunpowder.

Matchboxes were made for special events of the royal family in the United Kingdom. Shakil has a matchbox brought out in 1975 on the occasion of the Queen Mother's birthday. The back of the box has a list of events from 1900 to 1975. The match tray of the box is made of wood.

Back in the 18th century, the English inventor John Walker (1781-1859) first invented the friction match. Shakil has a type of match from that time. These are kept carefully in an attractive box nestled in soft yellow fabric. Nowadays matchboxes carry the word 'safety matches', but those matches from back then were not called safe. In fact, if they actually rubbed against the pocket, they could catch fire.