This essay discusses some aspects of Museu Paulista's initial organization based on Hermann von Ihering's correspondence with the geologist Orville A Derby and the paleontologist Florentino Ameghino. It considers the discussion on the origins of Museu Paulista within the context of the processes of consolidation of Natural Sciences' in Brazil. In the end of the 19th century, these processes were characterized by disputes for profession-teaching spaces that went beyond national boundaries. It also deals with the weight of the clearly personal-characterized initiatives webbing in the official processes leading to the creation of institutional loci for research.
Museum; Museu Paulista; Natural History Museum; Natural Sciences