A private museum is a collection

Collection (museum)

A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...

, usually on a very limited topic and operated by individual enthusiasts, collectors, clubs or companies.

Overview

Unlike a public or governmental museum, a scientific monitoring and systematic documentation is not always guaranteed. Therefore, a private museum has relevance for historical research only if it complements the national collections. Under certain circumstances, a private museum also receives funding from the state, so that a comparison with public museums is possible.

Many, especially smaller, private museums do not meet the requirements of the International Council of Museums

International Council of Museums

The International Council of Museums is an international organization of museums and museum professionals that is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.- Overview :Created...

 (ICOM). The main reason is that qualified personnel are not sufficiently available or can hardly be financed and therefore often only very limited opening times may be offered.

Examples

Germany

• Beate Uhse Erotic Museum
  Beate Uhse Erotic Museum
  The Beate Uhse Erotic Museum is a sex museum in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany.It was opened in 1996 near Berlin Zoologischer Garten railway station by Beate Uhse, the early stunt pilot and entrepreneur, who in 1962 started the world's first sex shop...
  
  , opened 1996
• Shipper's House in Bremen
  Shipper's House in Bremen
  The Shipper's House in Bremen, Germany is an internationally known monument, named after an owner who was in shipping. He opened a colonial goods store in the ground floor around 1920. The house was registered as an historical monument in 1973 and is located in the oldest district of the Free...
  
  , 1975-2005

Italy

• Peggy Guggenheim Collection
  Peggy Guggenheim Collection
  The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is one of several museums of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation....
  
  , founded 1938

United Kingdom

• Madame Tussauds
  Madame Tussauds
  Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
  
  , opened 1835

USA

• Museum of Modern Art
  Museum of Modern Art
  The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
  
  , founded 1929