"Museums for Society": About the Work of Collectors in the Cities of the Irkutsk Province in the Second Half of the 19th Century

Relevance. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a noticeable increase in the interest of citizens in museums, which is confirmed by the preserved historical documents. The plots presented in the article make it possible to understand the principles and directions of work of collectors in the cities of the Irkutsk province. As a result of the study of objects, the creation of art, ethnographic collections of museum funds, the research capabilities of scientists are expanding.
The purpose is to trace the process of organizing the work of collectors in the cities of the Irkutsk province to develop the museum space as a center of the scientific community in the second half of the 19th century.
Objectives: to identify documents from the collections of the archives of Irkutsk, which give an idea of the main stages in the formation of thematic areas of museum collections; follow the work of collectors as part of scientific teams in the creation and design of expositions and exhibition spaces; consider the areas of work of collectors in the acquisition of museum collections; determine the role of collectors in understanding the significance of museums for the development of Siberian society and the study of the region.
Methodology. When writing the article, the following are included: the principle of historicism, objectivity, scientific character, problem-chronological and historical-genetic methods.
Results. In the collections of the archives of Irkutsk there are documents that confirm the versatile work of collectors to maintain the museum business. In the second half of the 19th century, there was an increased interest of citizens in museums as scientific and educational centers for the study of the cultural and natural wealth of the region.
Conclusions. Collectors of the Irkutsk province unite in the process of holding events organized by various museum spaces. The involvement of many citizens in significant exhibition and educational projects confirms that the public participated in the creation of museums. An increased interest in the study of the region was manifested as a result of determining the importance of museums for the development of society. Documents about the museum at the East Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society made it possible to restore the work of collectors.

1. Dameshek L. M., Dameshek I. L., Ivanov A. A., Shakherov V. P. Ocherki istoriografii i istochnikovedeniya istorii Sibiri epokhi imperii (XIX – nachalo XX veka) [Essays on historiography and source study of the history of Siberia in the era of the empire (XIX – early XX century)]. Irkutsk, Irkutsk St. Univ. Publ., 2022, pp. 60−134.

2. Shaherov V. P. Social'no-demograficheskie harakteristiki gorodskogo naseleniya Irkutskoj gubernii [Socio-demographic characteristics of the urban population of the Irkutsk province]. Gosudarstvennaya vlast' i obshchestvo: na materialah gorodov Irkutskoj gubernii XIX – nachala XX vekov [State power and society: on the materials of the cities of the Irkutsk province of the XIX – early XX centuries]. Irkutsk, Ottisk Publ., 2019, pp. 132–181.

3. Shakherov V. P. [The historical experience of the participation of the Irkutsk merchants in the effective development of the Siberian economy in the 19th century]. Sibiryakovskiye chteniya. Materialy VII Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, posvyashchennoy 210-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya N. N. Murav'yeva-Amurskogo i 170-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya A. M. Sibiryakova [Siberian Readings. Proceedings of the VII All-Russian scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 210th anniversary of the birth of N. N. Muravyov-Amursky and the 170th anniversary of the birth of A. M. Sibiryakov]. Irkutsk, Ottisk Publ., 2020, pp. 143–156. (In Russ.).

4. Shakherov V. P. [The role of the merchants in the formation of the artistic life of the cities of Baikal Siberia at the end of the 18th–19th centuries]. Materialy nauchnoy konferentsii "Sukachevskiye chteniya – 2020" [Materials of the scientific conference "Sukachev readings – 2020"]. Irkutsk, IOKHM Publ., 2020, pp. 14–22. (In Russ.).

5. Gavrilova N. I. Kupecheskiy rod Sibiryakovykh: stranitsy istorii [Merchant family of Sibiryakovs: pages of history]. Irkutsk, Ottisk Publ., 2017, pp. 15−17.

6. Komleva Ye. V. Sibirskoye kupechestvo: vklad v khozyaystvennoye osvoyeniye i izucheniye Severo-Vostochnoy Yevrazii (konets XVIII – XIX vek) [Siberian merchants: contribution to the economic development and study of North-Eastern Eurasia (the end of the 18th – 19th centuries)]. Novosibirsk, Parallel' Publ., 2018, pp. 249−254.

7. Komleva Ye. V. "Tuzy-kapitalisty": obraz sibirskogo kuptsa v regional'noy periodicheskoy pechati vtoroy poloviny XIX v. [“Aces-capitalists”: the image of a Siberian merchant in the regional periodical press of the second half of the 19th century]. Izvestiya Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya = Proceedings of the Irkutsk State University. Series: History, 2018, vol. 24, pp. 36–45.

8. Goncharenko N. V. Sukachovy. Istoriya odnoy sem'i [Sukachevy. The history of one family]. Irkutsk, Artizdat Publ., 2019, pp. 12−18.

9. Chirkov V. F. Izobrazitel'noe iskusstvo Sibiri XVII – nachala XXI vv. [Fine arts of Siberia of the XVII – early XXI centuries]. Tobol'sk, Obshchestvennyj blagotvoritel'nyj fond "Vozrozhdenie Tobol'ska", 2014, pp. 81−82.

10. Zaveshchano potomkam : khudozhestvennaya kollektsiya V. P. Sukacheva v Irkutske [Bequeathed to descendants: art collection of V. P. Sukachev in Irkutsk]. Irkutsk, Artizdat Publ., 2009, pp. 8–13.

11. Zulyar Yu. A. O periodizatsii istorii Vostochno-Sibirskogo otdeleniya Russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva (K itogam 160-letney deyatel'nosti VSORGO) [On the periodization of the history of the East Siberian Branch of the Russian Geographical Society (On the results of the 160-year activity of the VSORGO)]. Izvestiya Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya = Proceeding of the Irkutsk State University. Series: History, 2012, no. 1(2), pp. 73–85.

12. Zulyar Yu. A. K istorii muzeya VSORGO [On the history of the ESORGO museum]. Krayevedcheskiye zapiski [Local history notes]. Irkutsk, 2000, is. 7, pp. 38–42.

13. Zubriy Ye. S. 150 let Irkutskomu oblastnomu khudozhestvennomu muzeyu im. V. P. Sukacheva [150 years of the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum. V. P. Sukacheva]. Izobrazitel'noye iskusstvo Urala, Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka = Visual arts of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, 2020, no. 1, pp. 155–163

14. Koshman L. V. Gorod i gorodskaya zhizn' XIX stoletiya: social'nye i kul'turnye aspekty [City and urban life of the XIX century: social and cultural aspects]. Moscow, ROSSPEN Publ., 2008, pp. 348−349.

15. Manzyreva Ye. S. Razvitiye khudozhestvennoy kul'tury v gorodakh Vostochnoy Sibiri (XIX – nachalo XX vv.) [Development of artistic culture in the cities of Eastern Siberia (XIX – early XX centuries)]. Vestnik Vostochno-Sibirskoy gosudarstvennoy akademii kul'tury i iskusstv = Bulletin of the East Siberian State Academy of Culture and Arts, 2014, no. 2 (7), pp. 18–22.

16. Gavrilova N. I. Pokinuvshiye Sibir'. Territorial'naya mobil'nost' irkutskogo kupechestva vo vtoroy polovine XIX – nachale XX v.: sotsiokul'turnyye aspekty (k postanovke problemy) [Left Siberia. Territorial mobility of the Irkutsk merchants in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries: socio-cultural aspects (to the formulation of the problem)]. Izvestiya Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya = Proceedings of the Irkutsk State University. Series: History, 2016, vol. 18, pp. 39–48.

17. Gimel'shteyn A. V. Vystavki i krayevedcheskaya deyatel'nost' VSORGO. 1851–1931 gg. [Exhibitions and local history activities of the East Siberian Geographical Society. 1851–1931]. Irkutsk, VostSibkniga Publ., 2012, pp. 25−30.

18. Irkutskiy kray. Chetyre veka : istoriya Irkutskoy gubernii (oblasti) XVII-XXI vv. [Irkutsk region. Four centuries: the history of the Irkutsk province (region) of the XVII-XXI centuries]; ed. by L. M. Dameshek. Irkutsk, VostSibkniga Publ., 2012, pp. 50−53.

19. Fat'yanov A. D. Hudozhniki, vystavki, kollekcionery Irkutskoj gubernii [Artists, exhibitions, collectors of Irkutsk province]. Irkutsk, Vost.-Sib. kn. izd-vo, 1995, pp. 19−20.

20. Fat'yanov A. D. Sud'ba sokrovishch [The fate of treasures]. Irkutsk, Vost.-Sib. kn. Izdvo, 1967, pp. 12−13.

21. Fat'yanov A. D. Vladimir Sukachev [Vladimir Sukachev]. Irkutsk, Vost.-Sib. kn. izd-vo, 1990, pp. 51−54.

22. Lykhin Yu. P. Khudozhestvennaya zhizn' Irkutska (pervaya chetvert' XX veka) [Artistic life of Irkutsk (the first quarter of the 20th century)]. Irkutsk, AEM "Tal'tsy", 2002, pp. 35−38.

23. Lyhin Yu. P. Hudozhestvennaya zhizn' Irkutska (pervaya chetvert' XX veka) [Artistic life of Irkutsk (the first quarter of the XX century)]. Irkutsk, AEM "Tal'cy", 2002, pp. 35−38.

24. Tkachev V. V. Organizatsiya khudozhestvennykh meropriyatiy Vostochno-Sibirskim otdelom Imperatorskogo Russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva vo vtoroy polovine XIX – nachale XX veka [Organization of Artistic Events by the East Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in the Second Half of the 19th - early 20th Centuries]. Izvestiya Yugo-Zapadnogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya i pravo = Proceedings of the Southwest State University. Series: History and Law, 2021, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 216–227.

25. Izvestiya Vostochno-Sibirskogo otdela Russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva [Proceedings of the East Siberian department of the Russian geographical society]. Obzor deyatel'nosti VSORGO za 75 let. 1851–1926 gg. [Overview of the activities of the VSORGO for 75 years. 1851–1926]. Vol. 50, is. 1. Irkutsk, Vlast' Truda Publ., 1926, pp. 61–94.

26. GAIO (Gosudarstvennyy arkhiv Irkutskoy oblasti) [State Archives of the Irkutsk Region], f. 293, op. 1, d. 282.

27. GAIO, f. 293, op. 1, d. 162.

28. GAIO, f. 197, op. 1, d. 5.

29. IOChM (Arkhiv Irkutskogo oblastnogo khudozhestvennogo muzeya im. V. P. Sukacheva) [Archive of the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum. V.P.Sukacheva]. Delo po istorii Irkutskogo oblastnogo khudozhestvennogo muzeya [Case on the history of the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum], l. 24.

30. IOChM. Delo B. I. Lebedinskogo [The case of B. I. Lebedinsky], l. 12.