diff --git a/client/src/components/HistoryView.vue b/client/src/components/HistoryView.vue
index e5b470107e9..565097f15b6 100644
--- a/client/src/components/HistoryView.vue
+++ b/client/src/components/HistoryView.vue
@@ -1,17 +1,30 @@
 <template>
     <CurrentUser v-slot="{ user }">
         <UserHistories v-if="user" v-slot="{ handlers }" :user="user">
-            <div v-if="getHistory" class="d-flex flex-column h-100">
+            <div v-if="history" class="d-flex flex-column h-100">
+                <div class="flex-row flex-grow-0">
+                    <b-button
+                        v-if="user.id == history.user_id"
+                        size="sm"
+                        variant="outline-info"
+                        title="Switch to this history"
+                        @click="handlers.setCurrentHistory(history)">
+                        Switch to this history
+                    </b-button>
+                    <b-button v-else size="sm" variant="outline-info" title="Import this history">
+                        Import this history
+                    </b-button>
+                </div>
                 <CollectionPanel
                     v-if="selectedCollections.length && selectedCollections[0].history_id == id"
-                    :history="getHistory"
+                    :history="history"
                     :selected-collections.sync="selectedCollections"
                     :show-controls="false"
                     @view-collection="onViewCollection" />
                 <HistoryPanel
                     v-else
                     v-on="handlers"
-                    :history="getHistory"
+                    :history="history"
                     :show-controls="false"
                     @view-collection="onViewCollection" />
             </div>
@@ -49,9 +62,12 @@ export default {
             selectedCollections: [],
         };
     },
+    created() {
+        this.$store.dispatch("history/loadHistoryById", this.id);
+    },
     computed: {
         ...mapGetters({ getHistoryById: "history/getHistoryById" }),
-        getHistory() {
+        history() {
             return this.getHistoryById(this.id);
         },
     },
diff --git a/client/src/store/historyStore/historyStore.js b/client/src/store/historyStore/historyStore.js
index 2f3430f1ddb..d81b1bddb74 100644
--- a/client/src/store/historyStore/historyStore.js
+++ b/client/src/store/historyStore/historyStore.js
@@ -32,14 +32,13 @@ const mutations = {
         Vue.delete(state.histories, doomed.id);
     },
     setHistories(state, newHistories = []) {
-        const currentHistoryId = state.currentHistoryId;
-        const currentHistory = state.histories[currentHistoryId];
-        const newMap = newHistories.reduce((acc, h) => ({ ...acc, [h.id]: h }), {});
-        if (currentHistory) {
-            // The incoming history list contains less information than the current history
-            // so we restore the existing current history since it gets updated regularly anyway
-            newMap[currentHistoryId] = currentHistory;
-        }
+        // The incoming history list contains less information than the current history
+        // so we ensure that already available details are not getting lost
+        const enrichedHistories = newHistories.map((history) => {
+            const historyState = state.histories[history.id] || {};
+            return Object.assign({}, history, historyState);
+        });
+        const newMap = enrichedHistories.reduce((acc, h) => ({ ...acc, [h.id]: h }), {});
         Vue.set(state, "histories", newMap);
     },
     setHistoriesLoading(state, isLoading) {
diff --git a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.js b/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.js
deleted file mode 100644
index a1e407fc09e..00000000000
--- a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-import { scrubModelProps } from "utils/safeAssign";
-
-export class History {
-    constructor(doc = {}) {
-        try {
-            this.loadProps(doc);
-        } catch (err) {
-            console.debug("Unable to load history props.", doc);
-            throw err;
-        }
-    }
-
-    loadProps(raw = {}) {
-        Object.assign(this, raw);
-    }
-
-    clone() {
-        const newProps = cleanHistoryProps(this);
-        return new History(newProps);
-    }
-
-    patch(newProps) {
-        const cleanProps = cleanHistoryProps({ ...this, ...newProps });
-        return new History(cleanProps);
-    }
-
-    equals(other) {
-        return History.equals(this, other);
-    }
-}
-
-History.equals = function (a, b) {
-    return JSON.stringify(a) == JSON.stringify(b);
-};
-
-const scrubber = scrubModelProps(History);
-export const cleanHistoryProps = (props = {}) => {
-    const cleanProps = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(props));
-    return scrubber(cleanProps);
-};
diff --git a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.test.js b/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.test.js
deleted file mode 100644
index e71b7d60fa3..00000000000
--- a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/History.test.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,75 +0,0 @@
-import { History } from "./History";
-
-describe("History model", () => {
-    const initialProps = {
-        id: "abc123",
-        name: "Foo",
-        tags: ["a", "b", "c"],
-        annotation: "I am a test history",
-    };
-
-    const h = new History(initialProps);
-
-    describe("clone", () => {
-        const c = h.clone();
-
-        it("must be able to clone itself for use in editors", () => {
-            // should be == but not ===
-            expect(h).not.toBe(c);
-            expect(c).toBeInstanceOf(History);
-            expect(History.equals(h, c)).toBeTruthy();
-        });
-
-        it("should have the same props before and after cloning", () => {
-            expect(h.id).toEqual(c.id);
-            expect(h.name).toEqual(c.name);
-            expect(h.tags).toEqual(c.tags);
-            expect(h.annotation).toEqual(c.annotation);
-        });
-    });
-
-    describe("patch", () => {
-        const patchVals = {
-            name: "i was patched",
-            annotation: "patched annotation",
-            tags: ["foo", "bar", "blech"],
-        };
-
-        const clone = h.patch(patchVals);
-
-        it("should return a new instance of History", () => {
-            expect(h).not.toBe(clone);
-            expect(clone).toBeInstanceOf(History);
-            expect(History.equals(h, clone)).toBeFalsy();
-        });
-
-        it("should patch in passed properties", () => {
-            expect(clone.name).toEqual(patchVals.name);
-            expect(clone.annotation).toEqual(patchVals.annotation);
-            expect(clone.tags).toEqual(patchVals.tags);
-        });
-    });
-
-    describe("equivalence comparison", () => {
-        it("should recognize different props", () => {
-            const hDifferent = new History({ id: "def345" });
-            expect(History.equals(h, hDifferent)).toBeFalsy();
-        });
-
-        it("equivalence should work fine with cloned histories", () => {
-            const clone = h.clone();
-            // different object
-            expect(h).not.toBe(clone);
-            // but equivalent because props the same
-            expect(History.equals(h, clone)).toBeTruthy();
-        });
-
-        it("should work with patch", () => {
-            const clone = h.patch({ id: "floobar" });
-            // different object
-            expect(h).not.toBe(clone);
-            // not equivalent because different val
-            expect(History.equals(h, clone)).toBeFalsy();
-        });
-    });
-});
diff --git a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/queries.js b/client/src/store/historyStore/model/queries.js
index a8f76192a01..8b5fe1aa4d5 100644
--- a/client/src/store/historyStore/model/queries.js
+++ b/client/src/store/historyStore/model/queries.js
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 
 import axios from "axios";
 import { prependPath } from "utils/redirect";
-import { History } from "./History";
 
 /**
  * Generic json getter
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ const stdHistoryParams = {
  */
 const extendedHistoryParams = {
     view: "summary",
-    keys: "size,contents_active",
+    keys: "size,contents_active,user_id",
 };
 
 /**
@@ -56,8 +55,7 @@ const extendedHistoryParams = {
 export async function getHistoryList() {
     const url = "api/histories";
     const response = await axios.get(prependPath(url), { params: stdHistoryParams });
-    const rawList = doResponse(response);
-    return rawList.map((props) => new History(props));
+    return doResponse(response);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -67,8 +65,7 @@ export async function getHistoryList() {
 export async function getHistoryById(id) {
     const path = `api/histories/${id}`;
     const response = await axios.get(prependPath(path), { params: extendedHistoryParams });
-    const props = doResponse(response);
-    return new History(props);
+    return doResponse(response);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -87,8 +84,7 @@ export async function createNewHistory() {
     if (!id) {
         throw new Error("failed to create and select new history");
     }
-    const newHistoryProps = doResponse(createResponse);
-    return new History(newHistoryProps);
+    return doResponse(createResponse);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -106,8 +102,7 @@ export async function cloneHistory(history, name, copyAll) {
         current: true,
     };
     const response = await axios.post(prependPath(url), payload, { params: stdHistoryParams });
-    const clonedProps = doResponse(response);
-    return new History(clonedProps);
+    return doResponse(response);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -129,8 +124,7 @@ export async function deleteHistoryById(id, purge = false) {
 export async function updateHistoryFields(id, payload) {
     const url = `api/histories/${id}`;
     const response = await axios.put(prependPath(url), payload, { params: extendedHistoryParams });
-    const props = doResponse(response);
-    return new History(props);
+    return doResponse(response);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -154,10 +148,7 @@ export async function secureHistory(history) {
 export async function getCurrentHistoryFromServer(since) {
     const url = "history/current_history_json";
     const response = await axios.get(prependPath(url), { params: { since: since } });
-    const props = doResponse(response);
-    if (props) {
-        return new History(props);
-    }
+    return doResponse(response);
 }
 
 export async function setCurrentHistoryOnServer(history_id) {