Catching up on House of Cards, and I started thinking- the size of the offices in Congress haven't changed much since the Capitol was created, but I'm sure the way business there is run has changed plenty. What were the necessary 'tools of the trade' in the early days of the Republic? "Early" can be any period you have knowledge of.
Extremely late response, but I actually just came across an answer to part of your question earlier today. From 1789 to 1908, most U.S. Representatives (not sure for Senators) didn't have offices and simply conducted their business from their desks on the House floor. Not only did they not have their own offices, but many didn't even have staffs. This changed in 1908, the Cannon House Office Building was completed and finally gave the rank-and-file Representatives their own work space.