The Museum of Mistakes

*"Everyone has heard of the Museum of Mistakes. Hardly anyone has been inside it."*

   **The Museum of Mistakes** is a dusty old institution on Ladybones Road run by the Ministry of Public Decency, and a d\_\_nable pain to actually get into. It holds all sorts of ancient things, reminders of old indiscretions and errors.

## Halls of Shame

The Museum has seventy-seven doors, but not all of them are real; some are just painted onto the wall, while others hold traps designed to give any intruder a really miserable day. Perhaps it’d be best to enter legitimately… but that might be an even more difficult task, given the bureaucratic labyrinth that is the nine-stage application process.

The following are known to be on display in the Museum:

* A corroded brass microscope smelling faintly of ammonia
* Old musket-balls
* Jade carvings
* A half-eaten fig
* A three thousand year old bit of black sailcloth, labelled 'Achaean, c 1200BC'
* First City Coins
* Diamonds
* A stuffed two-headed bat, almost the size of a man
* Two locks of hair; one amber, one dark.

## Grim Reminders

The **Dadd Wing** contains the museum's collection of human remains and requires a separate ticket to enter. It houses glass cases, sarcophagi, the skin of of human faces, part of a skull, and its oldest exhibit, a collection of ushabti and canopic jars donated by one Troubled Painter.

This mysterious painter lives in the Royal Bethlehem Hotel, and his name is implied to start with an R; he may be Richard Dadd, the namesake of the exhibit. In real life, Dadd was a troubled but prolific illustrator who produced most of his best-known work while in psychiatric hospitals (one of which was Bethlem Royal Hospital).

## References

2. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’The entrance lies behind a gate of amber on Ladybones Road.’
3. ↑ Prepare your Theft from the Museum of Mistakes!, *Fallen London*
4. ↑ Reconnoitre, *Fallen London*
5. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’The Ministry uses every weapon in its formidable battery of paperwork to dissuade visitors to the Museum.’
6. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’There is a nine-stage application process. You're probably going to need more ink.’
7. ↑ Use your contacts to prepare the ground, *Fallen London*
8. ↑ Sidebar Snippets, *Fallen London* ’Snow in the Neath?’
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Steal the coins!, *Fallen London*
10. ↑ Attend with pleasure, *Fallen London*
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Find a way in, *Fallen London*
12. ↑ Visit the Museum of Mistakes, *Fallen London*
13. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’The Dadd Wing houses the Museum's collection of human remains.’
14. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’ADMITTANCE to the DADD WING ONLY, it says, in tiny print. And on the back: Not valid for other wings. Entry at bearer's own risk.’
15. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’ Its gallery is crammed – on both ground floor and mezzanine – with sarcophagi, dusty glass cases, and tables of jumbled exhibits.’
16. ↑ Ask around 6, *Fallen London*
17. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’It is a round curve of thin bone. You examine the label: Calvarium. Canterbury, 1170.’
18. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’"Its oldest exhibit is a collection of statuettes and jars."’
19. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’Their plaque is less gnomic than most. Ushabtiu & canopic jars. Nile valley. It names the donor as a certain Troubled Painter.’
20. ↑ The Affair of the Impatient Apprentice, *Fallen London* ’Eventually, you find a copy of the Museum's correspondence with the Troubled Painter, misfiled under 'R'. You note his address: a suite at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel.’
21. ↑ Richard Dadd, *Wikipedia*