ABSTRACT
The collections, often attacked by material-specific pests, could not be treated with arbitrary, albeit effective, agents. Therefore, it was necessary to focus on the scientific results of storage and plant protection from the end of the 19th century. Current evidence shows that the development of in-house active ingredients and agents at the KMfV/MfV played a subordinate role due to limited resources of money and personnel. This also applies to experiments in this field on a scientific basis. It was the responsibility of the then staff at the KM/SMB to supervise and examine the working methods at the KMfV/MfV and to support smaller museums when inquiries regarding the preservation of their cultural assets arose. In addition, Friedrich Rathgen from the Chemisches Laboratorium (chemical laboratory) conducted experiments to understand the impact of certain gases on works of art and ethnographica. His outstanding position at the national and international levels is noteworthy. He had established connections through the publication of his research in scientific journals and by attending specialist conferences. At one such conference, he met a key figure named Johann Bolle, a botanist who shared with him a technology for mass fumigation that he had learned from Sweden.
