A phillumenist from Bangladesh has 14,000 matchboxes from 108 countries. Living in a well decorated apartment along a busy stretch of Mohammadpur’s Shia Masjid, Ahsanul Huq Shakil painstakingly tracks down matchboxes from around the world. But not just any matches. He collects only those with a story to tell.

His collection is one of the most original and impressive in the world. After all, he boasts the world’s smallest matchbox which you have to see with a magnifying glass. The match, perfectly functional, was made in India and there exist only two of them in the world. “And I have one of them,” brags the ardent phillumenist.

Take for example, his can-shaped-waterproof matchboxes used in ships which come with sticks that can burn for a good five minutes. Then there are matchboxes from Croatia and England in the shape of chest of drawers and also the embroidered ones from France.

The tiny Indian matchbox is so small that when he received it the first time and tried to show off to family and friends, it fell on the floor and got lost. “I missed a heartbeat when that happened. Luckily, I found it.”

Shakil, a 44-year-old artist and interior designer came to his hobby in his childhood when a cousin who worked as a crew in the Biman Bangladesh Airlines gave him matchboxes from different countries. Nothing would make the kindergarten kid happier than a colourful matchbox.

Pursuing such a niche hobby requires much effort. A few of his collections came from a trip to a collectors’ convention in the UK or a chance find at a shop in Europe.

Now, he uses personal connections and resources on the web to identify matchboxes that can augment his collection, which he showcases online at matchboxmuseum.blogspot.com.

He has lived in and travelled to more than a dozen countries including England, Scotland and Ireland. “Now I go only to countries where I think I can find interesting matchboxes,” says Shakil.

Thirty five years and more than fourteen thousand matchboxes from 108 countries later, his collection is unparallel in the country. Four weeks ago, he received a package from a Bulgarian fellow collector containing a set of 21 matches that have images of famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Big Ben and Burj Khalifa.

“When people ask me why I collect matches of all things in the world, I don’t know what to say. I guess I just love them.” Shakil’s romance with matches began in 1977, when he was a child growing up in Moghbazar. Romance is the word that best describes his relationship with matches. “I am always on the hunt for them. I put a lot of effort into it, so much so that my wife once told me to choose between her and matchboxes. Lucky for me, both have stayed.”

What’s unique about his collection is that it is broken down by themes like matches with religious motifs or by region. Venezuelan matches have the image of Jesus or Virgin Mary on them and those from Denmark launched during Christmas have Santa Claus on the cover. Germany has matches for different uses like BBQ (the sticks are 11.5-inches long) and fireplaces. The Russian match that he collected from a collector from Moscow named Alexander Pushkin is bigger than an Oxford dictionary and holds 2,000 sticks.

Two of his gems are a book of matches from the presidential palace of Indonesia and the Air Force One (presidential aircraft of the United States). Belgian Union matches still carry the same design and logo as they did one hundred years ago. His rich and rare collection include Bangladeshi vintage matchboxes.

Through regular communication with as many as 60 collectors from 24 four countries, Shakil has built a faithful network of collectors with whom he trades. The wait for that elusive match is endlessly exciting for him except for the “fine” at the customs he has to pay every time he goes there to receive a package. “When my friends send me matchboxes, they always take out the matchsticks. So I don’t know what law I am breaking.”

“I thank the postmen. Even if I am not at home they find me and give me the package. They know matches are my life,” Shakil philosophises.

—By arrangement with The Daily Star-Asia News Network

Published in Dawn, July 21st , 2014