I can offer some observations based upon what was done at the Museum of
Anthropology, University of Missouri-Columbia between 1973 and 1984 when I
was Museum Director/Curator.
 
First there was an explicit connection between the Museum shop and the
exhibits but it wasn't with archaeology.  The shop did not, as a matter of
policy, sell either originals or replicas of archaeological objects.  The
connection was with ethnography.
 
Two, the intention was to only sell original items produced by living peoples
or publications either of the Museum or closely connected with the Museum
exhibits.  Most items actually sold came from Africa, Latin America, Asia and
Europe.  They were either duplicates acquired in ongoing fieldwork that were
not needed for the collections or ethnographic objects acquired from
wholesalers in New York.
 
Three, the Museum Shop was considered as part of the temporary exhibit area
of the Museum with the difference being that the public could buy the
exhibits.
 
Four, the money obtained from sales in the Museum Shop was used to fund
additional acquisitions of modern ethnographic artifacts for the museum
collections.
 
As postscript I should add that I recently visited the Anthropology Museum
and note that this is not the policy in operation today.  My very quick
impression (I was only there for a few minutes) is that today they only sell
the usual plastic replicas/ mass produced publications found in many Museum
shops that have some connection with Anthropology but no necessary connection
with the exhibits.
 
           Lawrence H. Feldman
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