September 21 is the Collector's Day in Russia. This holiday is dedicated to one of the most popular preoccupations, which has millions of fans all over the world.
Collecting is an activity that involves collecting, studying, systematising and storing objects of interest for the collector. Many, if not all, people try collecting as children; some transform it into a hobby, while others carry their love of collecting through their lives. One can collect almost anything: coins, banknotes, security papers, postal products (stamps, envelopes, postcards, etc.), books, magazines, comics, art and antiques, household items, appliances, packaging and its elements, natural objects (plants, insects, stuffed animals, eggs, seashells), toys, figurines and much more. At the same time, each collector chooses for himself the principles of compiling a collection: some collect almost any objects related to the theme of the collection, and some collect only rare items (for example, first issues of comic books or first editions of books); some collect inexpensive postcards, and some collect exclusive vintage cars. However, most collectors do not just mindlessly collect all kinds of objects, but are interested in their history, provenance, etc.
Thanks to the Internet, collecting is now more popular than ever, because online it is easy to find not only like-minded people from other cities and even countries, but also new items for your collection. Numerous forums and online catalogues help to identify objects, distinguish fakes from originals, swap objects with other collectors, sell and buy items, etc.

It would be surprising if such a popular occupation did not have its own holiday. The history of the Collector Day in Russia goes back to the 1950s. Thus, in October 1957, Moscow hosted the 40^th Anniversary Philatelic Exhibition "40 Years of October", where the Day of the Postage Stamp and Collector was celebrated for the first time. However, already in 1958 the Collectors' Day was celebrated on May 25 -- the anniversary of the Moscow City Collectors' Society (MGOK), founded a year earlier. This date was retained until the All-Union Philatelist Society was established in 1966, after which Collector's Day was again combined with the October Postage Stamp Day. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some collectors' societies periodically celebrated the Collector Day in October, but for a long time there was no all-Russian collectors' holiday as such. The situation changed in the autumn of 2016, when a large-scale exhibition "Russian Collectors Forum" was held in the Moscow Central House of Artists. At the first convention of the Forum, it was decided to celebrate Collectors' Day annually on the 21^st of September - the anniversary of the exhibition opening.
On the occasion of the Collector Day, the societies of collectors all over Russia hold meetings, exhibitions and other events to share experiences and popularise collecting among the general public.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of private collections -- first of all, their social significance - preservation of cultural heritage, broadening of horizons and a huge contribution to education. Patrons of arts and collectors have always provided an opportunity for the general public to admire treasures, examine the history of collections and study separate items; in addition, the collections of the past centuries formed the basis of many museum expositions. Thanks to private collections, museums were established in many countries. At first they were royal collections (Hermitage, Louvre, Prado). In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, not only aristocrats, but also merchants and businessmen became efficient and active admirers of art.

Museum Collection, a significant cultural and educational project of the investor, philanthropists and collectors David Iakobachvili and his son Mikhail, turned five years old. We congratulate the founders of our museum on this holiday and wish them new fascinating discoveries, rare finds and implementation of all plans and undertakings. Their collection is one of the major private collections of the world cultural significance, with an art collection of about 25000 items. The collection is based on self-playing musical instruments and mechanical rarities, including musical boxes, organs and barrel organs, harmoniums, player pianos, accordions, recording and playback devices, clocks and objects with movement, amusing automata. The museum Repository also features decorative arts and jewelry, paintings and graphics, an extensive collection of Russian and West-European metal artworks, Russian and Western-European art glass and ceramics.

All excursions through the thematic expositions that were held in the Museum over the past five years were posted in our Video Archive, in the section "Video excursions sequence".

Museum Collection regularly hosts sightseeing and themed tours, and you can sign up for them on the museum website, in the Contact Us section.

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