More than 100 units.
The collection of travel supplies includes luggage trunks, suitcases, handbags, hat boxes and devices that can make life of travellers pleasant and easy.
Moving from place to place was an essential part of the lifestyle in the 19th century. Treatment, visiting relatives and friends, moving from winter flat to summer house and back were the reasons to go. The duration of the trip was influenced by weather, road conditions and other external conditions. The trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow in a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh could last about 4 days. Passenger transport by steamers and by rail reduced the duration of trips a lot, but they still required a lot of preparation.
A kind of road lifestyle was formed, which indispensable accessories were a variety of chests and boxes, road secretary-boxes with items for writing, with caches for storage of especially important papers. Travelers used drawers with compartments for tea, vessels for drinks, first-aid kits.
To protect things made of brittle materials, the lining of velvet or silk on cotton was used. Thanks to this lining and strong body a lot of fragile items from the road boxes and bags reached our days in excellent condition. This proves once again the highest level of quality of the old masters.
Traffic boxes-chests, widely existed not only in Russia but also in Western Europe. They are vividly described in the works of Russian writers — A.S.Pushkin (“The Captain's Daughter), V.S.Sologub ("Tarantas"), N.V.Gogol ("Dead Souls"), L.N.Tolstoy ("Long Drive"), etc.
