Culture Carton is the subscription box for the man who wants to go above and beyond and not be content with being just ANY man. It is for he who wishes to strive toward a more cultured and sophisticated self. Among the items in the box is a book that a cultured man would want in his growing library, along with select accessories that bring out the gentleman in him. Dress and look the part of the classy gentleman that you are.
Knowledge is power, dress for success, and always be a gentleman. Powerful words to live by and Culture Carton’s very apt tagline.
The theme for October 2017 is The Fall Basics Box.
Every month targets a different aspect of the life that a well-cultured man. The information card tells you what’s in the box, providing a value for each item.
Everything in the October Culture Carton.
Italic Bookmark ($4 on card, $3.85 online) – The natural design of this Italic Bookmark is inspired by the life and literature of Henry David Thoreau, an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian.
Italic bookmarks are the first bookmarks specifically created to enhance the reading experience and involvement.
This bookmark is made with thick upholstery fabric with a pronounced textural element that promotes increased focus and helps avoid distractions while reading. It has a great look to it, yet it remains thin enough to allow the book to close naturally upon it.
Kiko Leather Key Chain ($10) – This key chain is precisely crafted with rich, smooth and full-grain leather.
It is 8 inches long (with metal key ring included), big enough to grab easily or sling around your wrist for fumble-free operation. I like the substantial length of the piece — it is of sufficient size to be located and grabbed easily from your bag or pocket, yet it is pliable and tucks comfortably into a small space.
Blenders Eyewear Spider Jet Polarized Sunglasses ($45) – This solid pair of sunglasses has a classic teardrop-shaped polarized smoke lens that helps reduce glare.
The black frame is accented with gunmetal bridge, topbar and hinges, and black temple tips. The rockin’ glasses came with a microfiber pouch for great safekeeping.
The sunglasses fit comfortably and have styling that is sleek and not flashy — perfect for fall.
This kind of sunglasses not only reduces glare because it’s polarized but also helps reduce the harmful effects of UV light. Really awesome and high-quality!
Dead Soxy Oxford Socks ($22) – This pair of socks is a bold pop of color with the red and blue stripes, it is woven from a special yarn that repels moisture and sweat.
These are designed for the rebel at heart. It will never slip, shrink, nor fade. It provides snug yet it still has a comfy fit. They are a little cushier than a typical dress sock, so they make a great Fall transition sock.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson ($17 on card, $12.39 on Amazon)
“Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.
The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.
Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.”
The book is based on real character and events and is set in Chicago in 1893, intertwining the true tales of Daniel H. Burnham, the architect behind the 1893 World’s Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, the serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths in his ‘Murder Castle’.
And there’s even an illustration that depicts the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as 1893’s World Fair. The largest exhibition halls were described as being of sufficient volume to hold the Capitol building, the Great Pyramid, and several other large landmarks inside, simultaneously.
Written in third person, the book tracks the events surrounding the 1893 Columbian Exposition, with particular focus on the activities and observations of Burnham and Holmes. It reads like colorful fiction, yet the entire book is non-fiction, with passages in quotations all being drawn from journals, diaries, newspaper accounts, and other written records.
Another good deal for a $40 subscription! The sunglasses alone retail for $45, so you definitely get your money’s worth with this subscription (though, as a prescription eyeglass wearer, I personally prefer it when sunglasses aren’t included as the big value item in a box). Everything is of high quality and useful, too. This sub is a great way to get gear you’ll use delivered without a shopping trip. It is the book choices, however, that really have me impressed. Early boxes focused solely on self-improvement titles, but the choices the last several months have included NYT Best Sellers and Pulitzer Prize winners. Culture Carton actually has one of the best book curations of any subscription — recent picks have included Ready Player One and The Road. This book already has me enthralled, and I love the guilt-free pleasure of ready historical non-fiction, as you can revel in the entertainment value while content in the knowledge that you are learning actual history and broadening your understanding of the world in which we live. Culture Carton certainly lives up to its name.
What’s your favorite item this month?
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