In the 1920s, a small group of Europeans interested in collecting religious and sacred material began to assemble a special collection. They were interested in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Shinto, Baha'i Faith, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, as well as other religions and indigenous belief systems. They traveled to Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. They visited well-known as well as obscure, remote and ancient sites, and they carefully collected and documented material from these sites, such as holy water, ritual water, well water, melted snow and ice, rain and mist, and soil samples.
In the 1920s, by asking and receiving permission from local authorities, it was possible to collect material of this type. In today's world, because of environmental, cultural and governmental restrictions, that sort of on-site collecting generally is limited or prohibited.