What you have is a '56 235, going off the casting numbers. There should be a serial number that is stamped into a machined pad next to the distributer. That will have both the plant code as well as the original application code.
Thr canister is the oil filter, which was a dealer installed option most of the time. It may or may not be original, as the 216, 235, and early 261s used the same style filter. The lines are the oil feed and return, with the back one being the feed, also shared with the oil pressure line to the guage. The return simly dumps back into the pan.
