The imposing Maison Mantin in Moulins, France was completed in 1896, nine years before its owner's death.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

A photograph of Louis Mantin, who left his home to the city of Moulins, France, dressed in an Astrakhan hat.
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A winged "M" decorates the fireplace in Mantin's study ― perhaps a clue to his egotistical nature.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

A mini belltower adorns one corner of the Maison Mantin — a legacy of Mantin's eccentric interests.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

A skull sits on the desk in Mantin's study. Rumors that his house contained a collection of human skeletons proved unfounded.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Red, blue and white lightbulbs — the colors of the French flag — are seen in a chandelier in Maison Mantin.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Mantin kept a room decorated in feminine Louis XV furniture for his married lover, Louise Aliere.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Mantin was a great adopter of new technologies. His was the first house in Moulins to be wired for electricity.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Much of the original wallpaper decorating the Maison Mantin has been painstakingly recreated.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Mantin had a plumbed bath and overhead shower installed in his house — a rarity at the time.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

A flushing toilet was one of several modern sanitary innovations Mantin installed in his house.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

Another Mantin innovation. Hot water pipes around a metal closet provided him with a supply of warm towels at bath time.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]

A winking figure painted on a fireplace in the Maison Mantin. Curators say this motif is a clue to Mantin's double life.
- [Barry Neild/GlobalPost]