[4] Pamuk states that some of the objects displayed in the museum belonged to family and friends, while others were found elsewhere in Istanbul, or collected from around the world.

[7] According to the narrative, these objects were collected and arranged by Kemal, the novel's protagonist, as they are linked to his memories of Füsun, his love interest throughout the novel.

[3] The displays include a large glass case containing 4,213 cigarette butts, each smoked by Füsun, a collection of salt shakers, and paintings and maps of the Istanbul streets where the narrative takes place.

[4] In the early 1990s, Pamuk began collecting objects from the past that he saw and liked in junk dealers' shops and friends' homes, gradually forming the narrative that would become The Museum of Innocence.

[8] In "The Innocence of Objects," a catalogue describing the creation of the novel-museum, Pamuk lays out a manifesto for museums.