This article develops a conceptual framework for understanding Retro as a distinct mimetic art form rather than a mere symptom of nostalgia or cultural malaise. It argues that Retro achieves value when its works can be reasonably mistaken for artefacts of the past. The analysis focuses on Jack Dabaghian’s Masters of Secret and Sentinels, with particular attention to Masters of Secret, where he sought to photograph the Druze “the way [they] weren’t photographed in the 1860s.” These projects demonstrate how a work of Retro should be assessed insofar as it is a work of Retro, not simply as an artwork.