Wheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
What is an index? by Henry B. Wheatley is a bibliographical treatise written in the late 19th century. It examines what indexes are, why they matter, and how they should be made and used, blending history, advocacy, and practical instruction. The work argues for high standards in indexing and promotes cooperative efforts—most notably an Index Society—to make literature and science more accessible.The opening of the work defines “index” broadly as an indicator, then narrows to its bookish sense, tracing the word from classical Latin through its uneven adoption in modern languages and its rivalry with “table.” It illustrates early and literary uses (including Shakespeare), shows how “index” became naturalized in English, and surveys praise and prejudice toward indexes with lively anecdotes—satirical and malicious indexes, humorous specimens, and notable practitioners from Scaliger to Baillet and Bayle. It then widens to the public value of indexing in law and science, citing legal digests, state-supported calendars, the Royal Society’s catalogue of scientific papers, medical bibliographies, and Poole’s Index, before recounting proposals and steps that led to forming an Index Society and what such a body could do. Finally, it turns to practice: what an index should aim to do, how to compile it, why concise and meaningful headings matter, the need to specify causes of reference, and common pitfalls such as vague catchwords, massed page lists, misprints, and conflated or invented…
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