Cheat Sheet: Words for Objects

Some words confuse as much as help.

Program. Developer. Immersive.

Words for display objects aren’t much better. Here’s a cheat sheet.

Artifact
A genuine preserved collection object, with provenance (documented chain of ownership) on display.

Facsimile (also called Replica, Reproduction, or Repro)
A copy of an artifact, cheaply or expensively copied. Replicates both optical and material properties. (Display copy of Declaration of Independence.)

“Forensic” Facsimile
My favorite. A replica of the highest fidelity. Suitable for study. The process is itself worthy of interpretation. (Rosetta Stone.) (More on that tomorrow.)

Prop (also called — ahem — Replica, Reproduction, or Repro)
A real object, not from a collection. A replica or a purchased item. Usually no provenance. (“Pile of luggage” trope.)

Twin, or “Like Edition”
Item of the same vintage as what you’d rather have. So close it’s worthy, especially if the original disappeared. (Plane of Amelia Earhardt’s same edition.)

Reprographic (ALSO called Replica, Reproduction, or Repro)
Optical copy of a collection item, no attempt made to copy the material properties. (Scan of a daguerrotype as big as a wall.)

Here’s the thing:
Next time somebody says replica, reproduction or repro, you might want to ask them what they mean.

Warmly,
Jonathan