Housed in the elegant William L. Clements Library are rare historical materials from early America. The Fall 2011 LSA Magazine showcases a few of these University rarities (click here to access the article). Will it surprise you to read that during the American Revolution, George Washington was concerned about how to clean his false teeth? Or that an American scientist was sending secret messages to the British—written in invisible ink? View these and other improbable items in the slideshow below.

Photos courtesy of the William L. Clements Library. Special thanks to Clayton Lewis, curator of graphics materials and head of reader services.