This is Platycodon grandiflorus 'Komachi', a cultivar which never opens. The flower could never survive on its own; it will literally wither away and never open. They can be popped like bubble wrap. Had it for many years but after a major redo of the bed it was in it never came back.
Another one I no longer have in the garden and one that doesn't care for our cool summer conditions: Jacaranda mimosofolia
A basket made from colored pencils by Jane Maestre, seen in a Boston gallery.
The model is an MG-SA and the year is 1936.
Any Doctor Who fans?
Mallard is an A4 class locomotive, built to power high speed trains in the 1930's, the shape was honed in a wind tunnel to help it cut through the air as cleanly as possible, making speeds of 120 mph possible. Mallard holds the world speed for a steam engine, at 126 mph.