From wooden to metallic display cases: an episode about the purchase of exposition equipment for the Zoological museum in St. Petersburg (1895–1901)

Based on various archival sources from the funds of the Russian State Historical Archives, including the 1897 contract for the supply of museum glass cabinets and display cases between the Arthur Koppel Joint-Stock Company and the Supremely Approved Commission for Managing Work on the Internal Arrangement of the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, the article addresses the issue of exposition equipment in the context of preserving cultural heritage. The contract and the documents preceding its signing fit into a broad historical context. The described purchase probably illustrates the first experience of mass use in Russia of museum cabinets and display cases made of metal, rather than wood, as before. The choice of the manufacturer and supplier was interesting, where, for obvious reasons, preference was given to a foreign rather than a Russian company. As a result, the author concludes that the new experience of using iron museum cabinets and display cases was considered successful for Russia and marked the transition of Russian museums to a new type of exhibition equipment both for better preservation of museum exhibits and for providing the possibility of a better visual overview of the collections of public museums, which were becoming more and more numerous in Russia at the end of the 19th century.