I think we actually broadly agree. I was thrown by the mention of art conservationists, but probably took it too literally. When it comes to archival conservat

I think we actually broadly agree. I was thrown by the mention of art conservationists, but probably took it too literally. When it comes to archival conservation and restoration, it seems to me that there are two opposed goals which both have value: restoring to the highest-quality version we possibly can, and preserving the material as it would have appeared to its original audience. So for the wax cylinder example, we definitely want to produce the best, truest to intent restoration we can, but at the same time the experience of listening to a wax cylinder recording is also worth preserving. As long as the restoration is non-destructive (which it always should be, with digital tools), that’s great! We can have it both ways. There’s an interesting modern twist when it comes to vernacular photography, too. The popularity of instagram filters and the like suggests that there’s something more going on now even with snapshots.