VOICE BThe display of fans in this section highlight the creativity of fan makers throughout history. Curiosities, as they are often referred to, were designed to amuse more than cool. On the middle shelf, you can see fake Cuban cigars and a miniature champagne bottle, each concealing a fan within the body of the object. VOICE AOther curios were designed with practicality in mind. On the lower shelf you can see a fan containing a sewing kit and behind this, a fan-cum-ear trumpet. Curios were often categorised as inventions and sometimes patented. The patent protected the invention from being copied for a limited period. You can see patents associated with some of the fans displayed reproduced on the back panel.