Wheatley
Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838-1917) founded the Index Society (now Society of Indexers) in the London of 1877. He also founded several other organizations, edited, indexed, wrote over a hundred articles, and authored at least twenty eight books including What Is An Index? and How To Write An Index. And some of his books are still found for sale on Amazon!
Considered by most as the “father of indexing” he is still worth quoting.
I will share some:
Each generation must do its own work, and although benefit is gained from all that has gone before, it often forgets the obligation it is under to proceeding ages. An Index is therefore a standing warning against forgetfulness, and accurate reference to forgotten work is almost equal to a new discovery.
*More to come later.
9/19
The Indexer has a considerable power in his hand if he chooses to use it, for he can state in a few words what the author may have hidden in verbiage, and he can so arrange his materials as to force the reader to draw an inference.
The occupation of the indexer has been allowed to fall into disrepute during the present century [19th], and some have supposed that any ignorant hack can produce this indispensable portion of the book. Such was not always the case, for most old books of any mark have indexes of a high character, which clearly show that both author and publisher took proper pride in this part of their work. This spirit found whimsical expression in the speech of a once celebrated Spaniard quoted by the great bibliographer Antonio—that the index of a book should be made by the author, even if the book itself were written by someone else. P18-19
*Still more to come.
12/19
An ideal indexer needs many high qualifications; but, unlike the poet, he is not born but made. He must be a good analyser and know how to reduce the author’s many words into a terse form. He must also be continually thinking of the wants of the consulter of his index, so as to place his references under the heading that the reader is most likely to seek. If he does his work well he will have many appreciative readers; for, as Henry Rogers has observed, “no writer is so much read as the maker of a good index—or so much cited.” Dr. Allibone prints in his valuable Dictionary of Authors (vol.i. p. 85), an extract from a number of the Monthly Review, which is well worthy of quotation here:--“The compilation of an index is one of those useful labours for which the public, commonly better pleased with entertainment than with real service, are rarely so forward to express their gratitude as we think they ought to be. It has been considered as a task fit only for the plodding and the dull: but with more truth it may be said that this is the judgement of the idle and the shallow. The value of anything, it has been observed, is best known by the want of it. Agreeably to this idea, we, who have often experienced great inconveniences from the want of indices, entertain the highest sense of their worth and importance. We know that in the construction of a good index, there is far more scope for the exercise of judgment and abilities, than is commonly supposed. We feel the merits of the compiler of such an index, and we are ever ready to testify our thankfulness for his exertions.”
*Still more words of wisdom next time.
3/20
[On the current methods of indexing].* Some choose to write their Index straight on in the order of the book itself, on sheets of paper which are afterwards cut up, sorted, and pasted; others prefer to use slips of paper and to write one entry on each slip; a third class will make their entries at once into an alphabetical book, or better still on loose sheets of paper placed in a portfolio lettered in alphabetical order. By this means the indexer sees his work grow under his hands. Whatever system however is adopted, it is well to bear in mind that the indexer should obtain some knowledge of the book he is about to Index before he commences his work.
[On passing mentions]. ** ….it will be well for the indexer to pass the remark by unnoticed…the consulter is not likely to be in a very genial mood when he looks up the references….
[On names].*** Oddities in names give trouble, and are frequently the cause of blunders; for instance, there are living at the same time grandfather, father and grandson, who all bear the same names. To distinguish himself, the grandson adds the word Tertius to his name, and his card is printed as John Smith Ter. Now ‘Ter’ is so unusual an affix that a hurried cataloguer or indexer might almost be excused for treating it as Mr. Smith’s surname.
*Wheatly was commenting on methods that were “current” one hundred years ago. Today, of course, we thankfully now use computers and dedicated indexing software. But it is interesting to note the methods that were available at that time.
As for “some knowledge of the book” one is to index, current indexing time constraints usually limit this to reading the Introduction or Preface, Table of Contents and skimming through the text to see how it is laid out.
**A term we still use today. It refers to a “mention” of person, place, or topic without providing useful information that is worth indexing.
***Names give the most trouble of all to indexers. Thankfully, we don’t see “Ter.” anymore but we do see names from all around the world, where each language has their own unique set of foibles to understand.
The changing naming conventions through human history also add a level of difficulty to the task of indexing. As genealogists know, it used to be common (for the US at least) for parents to name a second child the same name as that of a first one who died. So how would you index that? John 1 and John 2??
*Still more to come!
6/20
It has been said that a bad index is better than no index at all, but this is open to question, as the incomplete index deceives the consulter.
[Regarding the indexing effort]. He must endeavour to attain perfection, but he will always have the unpleasant feeling that something may have been missed, and so strong was this feeling with a contributor to the Notes and Queries that he sent the following acrostic as a motto for an Index:----
I I
N never
D did
E ensure
X exactness
9/20