Abstract
The original collection of plaster casts from the Silesian Museum has not survived to this day. It was destroyed during the destruction of the exhibition building in World War II.
However, we can reconstruct the form and character of this collection based on several period photographs and postcards, which demonstrate the display of these sculptures in the inner courtyard space, both in the gallery walkway on the ground floor and on the first floor. Photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are rare documents recording not only the original architectural form of the interior of the exhibition space, but they are also the source for understanding the contents of the local collection of plaster casts.
Through these photographs, questions related to the identification of individual works, the choice of their selection for the given collection by the curator, possibilities of acquisition possibilities, and especially comparisons of this installation with other museum exhibitions in the monitored period are examined in a broader European context.