Authenticity and Affect: When Is a Watch Not a Watch?

Authenticity--the verifiable claim that an object is what it purports to be--is crucial for the value of an artifact as evidence, cultural object, research source, and object worthy of collecting, curating, and preserving. This essay explores another aspect of authenticity in artifacts, one rooted in subjective experience and less amenable to verification but often equally important for meaningful use of retrospective resources--the ability of an artifact, through its physical presence, to create an experiential and affective response in the researcher. The essay further explores the implications for collectors and special collections librarians of the fact that digital objects can be likened to physical artifacts because they also claim experiential and affective authenticity.