Apart from the requests addressed to various military institutions, the committee also approached private civilians to obtain historic objects for the new museum.[6] The principle applied was: The collections were to be divided into war trophies and ″otherwise historically interesting objects of exclusively Austrian origin which are of significance for the proper acknowledgement of the past of the Imperial and Royal Army in all its factors″. Only originals were allowed to be exhibited, and projects and models were admissible only under special circumstances. As a result of the work of the committee and the generous support of the Emperor, his family, the nobility, and the bourgeoisie, as well as the Imperial War Ministry, ″a plethora of treasures was gathered, which a contemporary individual can hardly imagine.″[7] Finally, on 25 May 1891, the new k.u.k.