When I worked at the Paul Revere House in Boston, the first
question most visitors asked was "is it real?" (the house, that
is). The staff kept a secret list of answers to that question
that we couldn't say to visitors ("no, it's a figment of your
imagination...). We tried to use the question to discuss the
problem of restoration vs. reconstruction of historic
architecture. This went over some heads, so sometimes we had to
settle for "yes, it is". In my opinion, some people don't care
if something is a reproduction or not as long as they are told
honestly what it is; while others will miss the "holy grail"
experience if the object is anything less than perfectly intact.
Restorations and reproductions have to be honestly labelled,
and used as an opportunity to educate the public about the
fragility of historic objects.
 
Carol Ely
Virginia Discovery Museum