The closed profile of the helmet and the shiny, smooth surface of steel, contrasts with the heads of spirally twisted rivets, that — despite their severe functionality — provide it with an extraordinary elegance. Until the middle of the 20^th century, this helmet was considered a 19^th-century copy. Covered with a thick layer of black paint (designed to protect against corrosion) it closely guarded its secrets. After being subjected to maintenance procedures, not only did this reveal its raw beauty, but also shed light on its mysterious past.
It represents a late Gothic form of the helmet, evolved from the medieval cervelliere, widespread at the end of the 15^th and early 16^th century. It appeared in numerous variations and variants, serving both knights and soldiers from other classes.

Welcome cup was a decorative container for drinking beer in guild inns during important celebrations. Its Polish name wilkom comes from the German greeting willkommen [welcome]. Each newly arrived guest had to empty the cup filled with an alcoholic beverage in honour of the guild. The production of such cups developed in Germany in the 2^nd half of the 16^th century, and later spread throughout Europe.

This is an atelier camera for “dry” glass plates with a maximum format of 18 x 24 cm, produced in the 1880s by an unknown manufacturer in Germany. The lens is from a later date (an 1890–1920 Aristostigmat 7 6.5/360), produced by Meyer...

This is a foldable stereoscopic camera for glass discs, with a 4.5 x 10.7 cm format. The camera is equipped with two lenses — Tessar 1: 4.5 f = 6.5 cm—by Carl Zeiss from Jena. It took pictures (stereo-pair) on a 4.5 x 10.7 cm....

Today, most researchers believe that Leonardo da Vinci — whose drawings were developed technically and used practically in Germany at the beginning of the 16^th century — was the first proponent of the idea of a wheel-lock, which led to the construction of the first wheel-lock, which, in turn, made it possible to popularize short guns, otherwise known as pistols.