EXCLUSIVE: Country Music Hall of Fame just received a historic donation. Who’s behind it?

One of the largest collections of country music artifacts has a new home in Nashville, Tennessee, and country music icon Marty Stuart is behind the historic donation.

TODAY got an exclusive first look at some of the items in the collection from Stuart himself, from Johnny Cash's first black suit to a dress worn by Dolly Parton.

"When I look at this, I see old friends, first of all, and I see an incredibly important piece of American culture," Stuart said. "But behind everything I see here, is a story."

Stuart, 65, began collecting relics of country music when he discovered a special makeup bag sitting in a "junk shop."

"I walked in a junk shop one day at Nashville 8th Avenue, and there was a beautiful hand-tooled makeup kit, and it said, 'Patsy Cline,'" he said.

He then started his mission of rescuing items like outfits, instruments and personal mementos with the help of his friends, fans and even strangers.

Over the years, Stuart has collected roughly 22,000 items, which are set to be a part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

"You can’t put a price on this from a heart and soul value. I mean, the entire culture was built upon a lot of these things," he said, calling the items "irreplaceable."

"They’re a part of the essence of who I am," he added. "They’re part of my heart, but they’re a greater part of me here."

Stuart showed off a couple of items from the collection, starting with a black suit Cash wore in his 20s.

"Grandma Cash, not to be outdone, went to JCPenney and bought this edging here, and edged this little boy’s suit so he would pop a little bit," he explained.

Cash wrote his hit "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" on a custom Gibson guitar, which will also be available to view, Stuart said.

Parton's green dress she wore on "The Porter Wagoner Show" in the 1970s is also on display.

"This came from her. This is the one she chose and sent over," Stuart said.

Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, described how rare Stuart's collection is.

"There’s only one. I mean, this Marty Stuart collection is the second best single collection in the world related to this genre," he said. "And had he not done it, I’m not too sure if these things would even exist anymore."

The collection is so massive it will likely take a year to catalog each item, but several pieces are already on display to the public, archivists said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com