These items were collected by an architect named Catherine Cooke who was fascinated by life in the Soviet Union. The items here are some of the objects she collected over her decades of travelling. They include cigarette boxes, perfume, tea and coffee packages, and the wrappers from bars of chocolate and other sweets. There is still tea in the two packets, third and fourth from left in the top row, but the sweets and chocolate are long gone.

To find out more about Soviet life and the things Catherine Cooke collected, visit this exhibition webpage.

From the Catherine Cooke collection