The State Museum of the History of Russian Literature houses relatively few items associated with the name of Nikolay Platonovich Ogarev. One of them is this travel writing set. Judging by the inscription “Light”, it was manufactured in England and bought by Nikolay Ogarev during his journey to Europe.

In March 1846, Nikolay Ogarev returned to Moscow after his second international trip. In November, he went to his estate, Staroe Akshino. Apparently, he absent-mindedly left the box containing the writing set at one of his friends in Moscow. On November 18, 1846, he wrote to his friend and associate, Alexander Herzen, asking, “Another question which I need an answer to: did I leave a wooden box (a rather simple one) with my inkwell at your place, or at the house of Gran<ovsky>, Sat<in>, Kor<sh>, or Kobylin?”

In this letter, Nikolay Ogarev mentioned his friend Yevgeny Fyodorovich Korsh, a journalist, librarian, and translator. He worked as a librarian at Moscow University and later at the Rumyantsev Museum. He also laid the foundation for what is now the Russian State Library. The travel box was donated to the museum by his descendant Anatoly Bogdanov in 1977. Most likely, it was at Korsh where Ogarev left this item.

Such compact travel boxes were common among experienced travelers. They were used to carry inkwells, pens, writing paper, envelopes, and other items. During the writer’s time, knives made of ivory, wood, or metal were used to open envelopes and cut paper. There are three ivory paper knives in Nikolay Ogarev’s travel box. In addition, there is a sandbox, which can easily be mistaken for a saltshaker nowadays. This item was very important: it contained fine river sand that was sprinkled over a sheet of paper to help the ink dry faster. Nikolay Ogarev’s writing set includes three carved ivory pens with metal holders: they were equipped with metal nibs that had already replaced quills.