Architectural Encyclopedia by Gavriil Baranovsky entered the museum collection in the 1990s. The museum has nine books of the publication, starting with the second volume in two parts. The encyclopedia had 8 volumes in total; the books were published in 1902-1908 in St. Petersburg.

The Architecture of Confessions included descriptions of Orthodox churches and chapels, Catholic and Protestant churches, synagogues and mosques, as well as some religious monuments and attributes: iconostases, necropolises and tombs. In the volume Public Buildings, Gavriil Baranovsky gathered information about banks and trading houses, markets and exchanges, hospitals, shelters, train stations, and other public buildings. Exhibitions, Spectacles, Sports is dedicated to exhibition pavilions, theatres and sports grounds. A separate volume includes descriptions and images of residential buildings and housing services.

Baranovsky paid a lot of attention in the Architectural Encyclopedia to St. Petersburg streets, parks, and squares. And in the last two volumes he gave detailed descriptions of the elements and parts of structures.

Each volume of the publication was accompanied by drawings and diagrams, photographs and illustrations, clearly representing the architecture of St. Petersburg in the second half of the 19th century. Gavriil Baranovsky sought to create a detailed guide with the names of all architectural movements and the names of the architects who influenced the image of the city. He wanted to show how different cultures developed and mixed in St. Petersburg.

Gavriil Baranovsky was an art critic, publisher and architect. He was born in Odessa in 1860. In 1880, as an auditor, he attended the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and in 1885, he graduated from an engineering institute.

From 1897 to 1905, Gavriil Baranovsky taught at the Institute of Civil Engineers. At the same time, he began working on the Architectural Encyclopedia.

The editions entered the museum in relatively good state of preservation: the book backs are torn and dishevelled in places, but the book blocks are intact. The covers are made of cardboard covered with textiles and decorated with leather inserts and corners.