historical vs. practical?

I have a 1923 bungalow

Your 'best' fix would involve knocking the plaster & lathe off the wall & putting drywall up, skim-coating it, and nobody will know the difference. (It's a mess of a job, but you only need to do it once.) That's just what I did in the living room here. Our houses are the same age. No more cracks, and the new 'drywall' will look just like the old plaster & lathe.