Mendeleev's suitcase at the Boblovo estate museum and the scientist's craft of making cases

One of the most valuable exhibits at the Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev Museum, the Boblovo estate, is a suitcase made by Mendeleev. The exhibit was donated to the museum by the scientist's granddaughter, Ekaterina Dmitriyevna Kamenskaya-Kuzmina.

Yes, besides collecting art, Mendeleev was fond of making cases, trunks and suitcases. His cardboard wares were popular with shopkeepers, although he had originally taken up working in cardboard in order to pack his own collection. The pastime grew into a professional craft. Suitcases from Mendeleev's hand bore a distinct mark of quality, for he devised his own recipes for the glue. Many considered it an honour and a stroke of great good fortune to own a suitcase by so eminent a professional.

On one occasion Mendeleev happened to overhear a most flattering conversation in a shop where, among other things, his suitcases were sold. When a customer asked whether they had any Mendeleevs, the shopkeeper enquired whether he knew who Mendeleev was. "Of course, he is a famous master of the suitcase trade."