The history of Mirecourt has been closely linked to the making of musical instruments since the seventeenthcentury. The aim of the Musée de la Lutherie et de l’Archèterie françaises (museum of French stringed-instruments and bow-making) is to promote and interpret this heritage. In the part of the museum devoted to the makers of stringed-instruments, a particular workshop purchased by the museum and associated with a larger cultural project, is on display today. This is the Gérôme family’s workshop where several generations of stringed-instrument makers produced mandolins and guitars. Rather than considering the spirit of the place as distinct from its material substance, it is the interconnection between these elements that is explored. Preserving the spirit of the workshop involves sharing its history, presenting the instrument-makers’ skills, keeping the workshop in use and allowing visitors to walk freely in the workspace and recall its links with music. The acquisition of this workshop raises the issue of its status, the nature of the ‘object’ to be preserved. Are we keeping the workshop itself or the spirit of a place? This is the challenge that the team of the Mirecourt museum have to meet.