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Harry Houdini's letter to the New York Public Library accompanied his contributions to the institution's collection of books on "legerdemain, magic or hand-cuff tricks."

The curators at the New York Public Library have spent a century amassing the library’s extensive research collection — everything from 4,300-year-old Sumerian cuneiforms to Malcolm X’s briefcase.

Now the library is putting a vast selection of that stash on display in Celebrating 100 Years. The exhibit opens Saturday at the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, which is celebrating its 100th birthday.

“Each of the 250 items selected are not only individually compelling, but shown together, tell the story of the world around us, and how it has changed over time,” said Paul LeClerc, the library’s president, in a statement announcing the exhibit. “NYPL is the only institution in the world that always makes these collections accessible to the public.”

The library gave Wired.com a sneak peek at some of the sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre, items going on display this weekend. The preview gallery includes a letter that Harry Houdini wrote to the NYPL’s director in 1911 about the library’s meager collection of magic books, a lock of Mary Shelley’s hair and Charles Dickens’ letter opener — made from the paw of his cat, Bob.

Celebration of the centennial, which will include a festival featuring Lego sculptures of the library’s famous lions on May 21 and 22, comes at a trying time for the institution. It’s currently facing $40 million in cuts under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed budget, leading the library to launch a letter-writing and fundraising drive. Losing the funding could lead to branch closures and reduced library hours.

Celebrating 100 Years will be on display and free to the public until the end of December.

Images courtesy New York Public Library