The cabinet stands open.Twelve drawers. Twelve small wonders.
Pull any drawer by its brass handle. Every specimen is an original illustration; every label is sample copy.
Kept in the dark, brought out politely.
Abernathy & Sons has assembled its cabinet over three generations, in the fiction: first a sea captain's souvenirs, then a schoolmistress's beetles, finally whatever the valley brings to the back door in shoeboxes.
The house rule stands since 1891: every object is drawn before it is shelved, because a drawing remembers what a label forgets. The twelve illustrations in the cabinet above were drawn in that spirit.
Nothing here is for sale. The captain tried that once and the family has not let him forget it, though he has been dead for sixty years.
The incoming ledger.
| No. | Object | Brought by | Entered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 241 | Megalodon tooth, palm-sized | A dredgerman at Ferry Landing | October, sample year |
| 240 | Pocket watch, stopped at 3:07 | The stationmaster's widow | September, sample year |
| 239 | Amethyst cluster, fist of the hill | Dutch Hollow schoolchildren | September, sample year |
| 238 | Nautilus shell, half | The captain's great-niece | August, sample year |
| 237 | Rhinoceros beetle, very sure of itself | A traveling seedsman | August, sample year |
By appointment, by lantern.
The cabinet may be viewed on the days below, in the fiction, at the shop on Merrow Street. Parties larger than four are asked to bring only their quietest voices.
Admission is one good story, told well. Hours, street and terms are all sample text for the template.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | Four until eight |
| Thursday | Four until eight |
| Saturday | Ten until dusk |
| First Sunday | Lantern viewing, eight sharp |
| Other days | The cabinet sleeps |
Asked at the counter.
Is Abernathy & Sons a real shop?
No. It is a fictional collection built as a website template; every specimen, date and address is sample content.
May I touch the specimens?
In the fiction: the moth permits it, the beetle does not, and the key bites. The drawers open and close, which is safer for everyone.
Do you buy curiosities?
The house acquires by gift and by story only, and the ledger above is sample copy either way.
Why is the watch stopped?
It arrived that way. The family agreed, over one short argument, never to wind it.