Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library

The Austrian National Library preserves and restores the stored papyri and facilitates scholarly research and publication based on these ancient documents.

The main exception to this was in Egypt, where the harsh desert climate preserved papyri for centuries.

In 1878–1879, the Viennese dealer in antiquities Theodor Graf [de] purchased recently found papyri from Faiyum, known as Arsinoe in the Hellenistic period.

Graf contacted Professor of Oriental History at the University of Vienna Josef Karabacek [de] and arranged the shipping of around 10,000 papyri to him.

Archduke Rainer continued to expand the collection with new purchases that Graf arranged, including papyri from digs at Hermopolis, Heracleopolis Magna, and other sites in the Faiyum area such as Soknopaiou Nesos.

Rainer gifted the collection to his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on August 18, 1899 as a birthday present.