The small box once belonged to Rudyard Kipling and sits on display at his former home, but curators didn’t pay much attention to it — until now.

Elton John has sparked serious concern with his health woes in recent months, but the star once nearly lost his life to an epidemic.

One of his most grueling expeditions was in the Siberian region of Russia, where he spent a week confined to a 6x6-foot wooden box in sub-zero temperatures, hoping to capture an image of the ...