Gentlemen: An instruction manual for the Sholes and Glidden Type-Writer, distributed by Densmore, Yost & Co. The Sholes and Glidden was the first of its kind to be commercially successful, and coined the term “typewriter”. Included in the manual is a handy QWERTY layout which allows future typists to practice, as well as testimonials from the likes of R.H. Badcock, a blind man from Kalamazoo, Edward H. Magill, president of Swathmore College, and this guy:

What “Mark Twain” says About it.
Hartford, March 19, 1875.

Gentlemen: Please do not use my name in any way. Please do not even divulge the fact that I own a machine. I have stopped using the Type Writer, for the reason that I never could write a letter with it to anybody without receiving a request by return mail that I not only describe the machine, but state what progress I had made in the use of it, etc., etc. I don’t like to write letters and so I don’t want people to know I own this curiosity-breeding little joker.

Yours truly,
Saml. L. Clemens.

It must be noted that, seeing his explicit instructions ignored, Twain’s revenge was swift and brutal. No one knows exactly what transpired that day at the offices of Densmore, Yost & Co., but it must have been horrific, as many of the bodies were beyond recognition. Needless to say few, if any, fucked with Clemens again.

Instructional manual [Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities]

I think we can all agree that the combination of stuffy old-world sensibility and puerile humor is a welcome one indeed.

Sillhouette Masterpiece Theater

A diving suit, created by the brothers Carmagnolle (Alphonse and Theodore) in 1882 and most certainly the inspiration for the iconic, lumbering Big Daddies from Ectomo favorite, Bioshock. The distinguishing feature being the helmet, which is pock-marked with 20 portholes. This massive underwater suit of armor weighs in at a staggering 837 pounds and was presumably never put into service. The sole example is found on display at the Naval Museum in Paris.

Alphonse and Theodore Carmagnolle [Diving Heritage] : Dark Roasted Blend