"Authenticity" and "originality" are such a disarmingly simple words. The English language contains a number of different terms with similar, but distinct, meanings having to do with the concept of saving, or improving, or copying something that existed previously. Words like Restoration, Replication, Reproduction, Reconstruction, Re-fabrication, Remanufacture, Replacement, and Rebuild allow a lot of wiggle-room for interpretation. The terms can apply on a micro scale to a single object like a nail, or on a macro scale to an assembly of thousands of objects, such as a entire ship or car.
Archaeology
As marine archaeologists we encounter the "re" words all the time when people try to "replicate" things that existed in the past. Consider "The Ship of Theseus Paradox": Two thousand years ago the the Greek writer Plutarch used a ship to raise the question of what's real, and what's REALLY real--and we've been scratching our heads over this conundrum ever since.
 |
| A "replica" of an ancient Greek merchant ship based on the remains of a ship that wrecked about 2,500 years ago. Wooden Shipbuilding and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks. |
I'm sure the readers of this blog are abundantly familiar with the ancient Greek mythological hero Theseus who saves Athenian boys and girls from being sacrificed to the Minotaur, a half-human, half-bull monster. Plutarch tells us what happens next:
"The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demitrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same and the other contending that it was not the same."
So people who have been collecting old things have been asking themselves what is real and what is REALLY real for at least 2,000 years. One of the goals of maritime archaeology is to figure out what ancient ships looked like and how they performed. We use methods very similar to those used by the most rigorous car restorers. If you want to find out about something that existed in the past--the Spanish caravel of the 16th century in this example--you have five avenues of research to follow for accurate information:
 |
| Avenue of Research #1: Artistic (or photographic) representations, like this very detailed drawing of three ships off Dover, England, in the early 1500s. |
 |
Avenue of Research #2: Written records and descriptions,
like this list of equipment on board Columbus' ship
La Nina in 1498. National Geographic Magazine. |
 |
| Avenue of Research #3: Archaeological evidence (actual remains of original examples), like this main mast step of an early 16th- century shipwreck in the Bahamas. KC Smith. |
 |
| Avenue of Research #4: Examination of traditional methods of manufacture that still survive, like these shipwrights in Bahia, Brazil, shaping hull planks by hand. Ships of Discovery. |
 |
| Avenue of Research #5: Recreation of the subject using all four of the research avenues above to test and refine its performance, such as this seaworthy recreation of Columbus' caravel, Santa Clara. Ships of Discovery. |
Carchaeology
I mention this parallel between archaeology and carchaeology not only to reassure readers that "I get it" when it comes to those seemingly simple words "authentic" and "original," but also that I am aware of the enormous gaps between words like "replica" and "reproduction," words that most people blithely use interchangeably.
The passion for collector cars is at an all-time high. The prices some cars obtain can be stratospheric, but there are rules for assigning values . . . well, more like guidelines, really. One of the rules is that "original and authentic" cars are the most highly valued. But that's not always true. Consider the case of Tom Merkel's "Car Garden," a work in progress since 1973 that now includes at least 1,200 cars, give or take a few hundred.
 |
| Part of the 1,200-car Merkel collection. Midnight in the Garden of Eldorados and E-types. Car and Driver. |
When adding to his collection, Tom doesn't look for anything in particular, just old, used-up, motor vehicles of any type in any condition. He doesn't restore the cars in his collection and he doesn't sell them. That's not the point. I don't understand the point, either, so I'll let him explain:
"The massive 20th-century time-capsule monument project, the Lost Highway [part of the Car Garden], came about by happenstance . . . . The work in progress is basically the 20th-century equivalent of the Chinese clay soldiers. The cars are as if they were pages from hundreds of family albums. The vehicles from police impound often still have their owner's belongings in them. Eighty percent of the old rides were on 'death row' and were bought for scrap. To me they were three-, four, and five-thousand pound sculptures a person could buy for 200 bucks in the 1980's."
But for all the Car Garden's rich authenticity and originality, it just continues to get older--not more appreciated, more widely recognized, or more valuable. Evidently, it isn't enough just to be original. There has to be more to it. If cars are like shipwrecks, the "more to it" is the richness, detail, and depth of their
story.
Now take a look at the other side of the coin--the side where authenticity and originality translate into millions of dollars. In Dave Kinney's "Insider" column in the November issue of
Octane magazine I ran across this tidbit having to do with the confusion that often arises when trying to establish "originality" for race cars that are sometimes crashed, rebuilt, recommissioned, modified, re-bodied, crashed again, scrapped, rediscovered, and restored:
"The back-story of this 1955 Jaguar D-type: buy one car claiming to have this car's serial number then, to alleviate the problem of another car having the same serial number, buy that as well. Take all the original bits from both and put them back into the car. Stamp each important bit and panel of the copy with the word 'replica' in hidden areas. Sell it on at a replica price, then present the real thing here. It [chassis number XKD 530] achieved $3,905,000 (RM Auctions, Monterey, California, 16 August 2013."
 |
| 1955 Jaguar D-type chassis XKD 530 . . . or one of them . . . . |
At some point the definition of and quest for originality, whether it be an ancient ship or an historically significant automobile, becomes more of a philosophical issue than a practical one. The Alfatross is an exercise in achieving a balance between preserving the soul of a machine, while returning its appearance to the way it looked in 1955, and improving its mechanical functions when possible to extend its life. So which "re-" is that? It seems to me that several distinct processes are involved. The engine is being rebuilt. Parts of the upholstery will be replicated while other parts will be restored. Various rubber parts have been reproduced. A few original parts such as the thermostat that operates the shutter in front of the radiator will be simply replaced with new old stock.
So, like the Ship of Theseus, it can be argued that The Alfatross is original--or that it is not--depending on which side of Plutarch's paradox you prefer.
