While Rainer's military and political career was largely forgotten, his interest in art and science proved more lasting. Later in his life, Archduke Rainer became interested in the emerging science of
papyrology, the study of preserved
papyrus in the deserts of Egypt that offered primary source documents from centuries earlier. In 1878–1879, the Viennese dealer in antiquities purchased recently found papyri from
Faiyum, known as Arsinoe in the
Hellenistic period. Graf contacted Professor of Oriental History at the
University of Vienna and arranged the shipping of around 10,000 papyri to him. The papyri made their way to Vienna in 1881 and 1882 while awaiting a buyer; at the end of 1883, Archduke Rainer agreed to purchase the papyri. Professor Karabacek managed and processed both the sale and the collection. The collection was initially stored at the
Österreichischen Museum für Kunst und Industrie (the predecessor of the modern
Museum of Applied Arts). Archduke Rainer continued to expand the collection with new purchases that Graf arranged, including papyri from digs at
Hermopolis,
Heracleopolis Magna, and other sites in the Faiyum area such as
Soknopaiou Nesos. Rainer gifted the collection to his uncle Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria on August 18, 1899 as a birthday present. At Rainer's request, Franz Joseph incorporated them as a special collection at the Imperial and Royal Court Library (now known as the
Austrian National Library). Rainer's vast purchases provided the core of the collection that still exists today as one of the most significant collection of papyri in the world. The Rainer collection at the Austrian National Library was given the honour of becoming part of the UNESCO
Memory of the World Register in 2001. == Honours and awards ==