Master of ironing

It would seem that an ordinary private house in Ust-Kamenogorsk… But right in the center we suddenly saw an iron, incredible size! This is how we met Alexander Kozlov, a very unusual collector – turner of MASHZAVOD LLP.

– Alexander Nikolaevich, is the iron real or fake?

– It»s a real one. Only it's not really an iron. This is a barbecue. I made it myself in my youth.

– Did you already start collecting then?

– There has always been a passion for irons. But I got a full-fledged hobby about 15 years ago, when I found an old copy in the house of relatives. It was lying unattended in the yard. That's when I realized that I had the soul of a collector. And it went!

– How many irons do you have now?

– More than two hundred.

– How do you add to the collection?

– I buy it, I bring it myself. Acquaintances, relatives, if they see an interesting specimen somewhere, call, ask if I need it or not. Once I was carrying seven irons from Barnaul in a sports bag in the bus cabin. At customs, I almost turned gray while being inspected. But everything worked out. So, I have the largest iron weighing six kilos in my collection. One of my friends was less lucky. When he was bringing me an iron, he was stopped at the border and kept in the heat for four hours until all the circumstances were clarified. Customs people even sent a request to the Department of Culture! And the iron turned out to be the most common, from a factory in the city of Kasimov, Ryazan region, I have a lot of them.

– How do your relatives relate to your addiction?

– With understanding! We are lucky we have a private house – there is a place to store the collection.

February 10 is the day when they celebrate the birthday of the iron. It was first mentioned in writing in the book of records of Tsaritsa Evdokia, the wife of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. The entry was made in 1636: «On the 31st day of Genvar, the blacksmith Ivashka Trofimov took 5 altyn, and for that money he made an iron for the Tsaritsa.»

– Do you often have to buy irons? What is the highest price you paid?

– It happens… I gave 25 thousand tenge for one copy. It was about 15 years ago, then it was good money. I bought a French cast iron from a seller who contacted me himself. For six months we had been bargaining, we could not agree in any way. In general, I have irons from Holland, Canada, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia. Most of the copies are from the Volta plant (Estonian SSR), and I also have some local ones – from the Kirov plant from Almaty.

– I am sure you are the expert of the iron history, aren»t you?

– Of course, because without this knowledge, you can't collect collections. Seven types of irons are most common – alcohol, floor-mounted (heating), oven (coal), kerosene, gas, steam and electric. We all well know electrical irons, but the rest are very interesting. For example, an alcohol iron is arranged as a kerosene lamp: the surface was heated with alcohol, which was poured inside, and set on fire. The liner of the heating iron was separately heated in the furnace, then removed and inserted into the hollow body. The sole of such an iron was copper or iron. Similar in principle of action to it is an oven iron, in which embers were placed. The essence of a kerosene iron is simple. There is a fuel tank and a burner: the fuel is burned – the iron is heated. Gas appliances were heated by burning gas, and steam appliances were shaped like a kettle, water was poured into them.

– Are all the irons in your collection in working condition?

– Absolutely. I restored many of them by myself. Some had no soles, others had no handles: I changed the hilts, pads, made them presentable. I'm a turner and both metal and wood is my business.

The only iron museum is a private museum of entrepreneur Andrey Vorobyov in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. Several times a year, the museum hosts an Iron Festival, where any visitor can experience irons in action. By the way, there are also more than 200 copies in this collection, just like our hero.

– Let»s speak about your work. How long have you been at the machine factory?

– Since 1987. This is my first and, I hope, my last job. 34 years already! I love both my job and my hobby!

– Are there still iron collectors in East Kazakhstan?

– I know one. But he somehow quickly went in the doldrums. After all, patience is needed for this case. I've been collecting my 200 copies all over the world for almost two decades!

– What about the exhibition? Did you have such an idea?

– Many times they offered, but I don't want to. I know from experience that the irons will be taken away in perfect condition before the start of the exhibition, they promise to treat them carefully, but as the event ends, so take them yourself. And then you have to repair and restore some … So, let my collection be safe and sound at my place. Especially since I never refuse to show it!

The article was published in the corporate newspaper of the Samruk-Kazyna Group of companies SK NEWS (No.13-14 (171-172) dated 30.07.2021).