The vendor shares a wonderful provenance story! They had a friend who worked in the Entomological Department of the British Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London. They were invited to the back working rooms of the Entomological Section, had many tours and looked at their friends work on various aspects of entomology. The friend, an Arctidae expert, was instrumental in the study and documentation of various moth species.
During a significant relocation of the museum’s vast collection of six million specimens to a new, purpose-built entomological facility, many of the original cabinets were no longer needed. The surplus cabinets were offered to staff and our vendor was fortunate to be included in the offer, allowing them to acquire one of these historic pieces.