Travelling to distant places and visiting many continents hasn't always been this easy. It was once reserved for the few. So it happened that exclusive, male societies were formed by those who were able to travel to far-off lands. In seclusion they could congregate, exchanging memories and sharing experiences, basking in the glory of their achievements.
A first "Travellers Club" was begun in 1819 in London. It was emulated everywhere – an "Explorers Club" in New York in 1904, the mother of several more; a "Trampelag" in Oslo in 1928. Well-travelled Swedish men in 1911 set up a Travellers Club in Stockholm. It was a storytelling and writing crowd, so the library grew as the adventures of its members were documented.
The club was a meeting place for the time's scientists and explorers. They often consolidated the memory of their journeys and tribulations by donating scientifically interesting, ethnographic and archaeological objects to the club's collections - musical instruments, jewellery, figurines, and much more. Today, the entire collection is at the Museum of Ethnography.