The first, private and unknown small anatomical Ruijsch collection of Peter the Great

Abstract

The anatomical collection of Frederik Ruijsch (1638–1731) concerning injected dry and wet preparations attracted the attention and interest of several generations of scientists and other admirers, including Tsar Peter the Great of Russia (1672–1725). Even today, this interest has not weakened since its manufacture more than three hundred years ago. The main collection of the famous Dutchman was purchased by Tsar Peter the Great in 1717 for his Kunstkamera, now Peter the Great’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in Saint Petersburg. In books and articles, first written by A. I. Tarenetsky, later by M. A. Tikotin, and again by V. V. Ginzburg was pointed out that several dozens of preparations of Frederik Ruijsch are located in the anatomical museum of the Military Medical Academy named S. M. Kirov in St. Petersburg. This collection is called “the small collection” and was acquired by Peter the Great in 1697–1698 as a private collection. This collection was intended for educational purposes and is nowadays almost unknown in, and outside the scientific world. We set ourselves the task to study the history of the acquisition of this small collection, to find out its journey to the end destination by researching early published or unpublished sources. The small collection paved the way for other botanical, zoological, and anatomical collections and has significant historical importance.