Charles Davies Sherborn was an indexer. And he followed a long line of indexers. And a longer line of indexers followed him. They/we are all members of “The Indexer’s Club”. A club of obsessed individuals who, for some weird reason, find it necessary to not only facilitate a semblance of order, but to make sometimes incredibly huge amounts of information available to others [sacrificing their social lives and labouring on what spouses and colleagues may consider esoteric projects in order to save others from the same work]. And in doing so, encumbering most of the day and the wee hours of the night with a passion and fervour few other human beings can even begin to understand. This presentation will explore the bits of Sherborn’s life that led to that passion for indexing; and touch upon the impact he has had on bibliographies and researching the dates of publication; upon nomenclature; and upon the indexing of names — and it will attempt to explain why he did this and where we all can go as a result.

4. Charles Davies Sherborn
and the Indexer’s Club
A passion addiction obsession for list-making

5. The Indexer’s Club

6. The Indexer’s Club

7. The Indexer’s Club
• What is an indexer / list-maker?
– Masochist?
– Socially inept?
– Obsessive / Compulsive?
– Facilitator!
• Giving order to unordered or chaotic sets of items
• Products from work are called “references” and “finding aids”
• We perform an often thankless service to others at little benefit to
ourselves

8. The Indexer’s Club
• Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.*)
– Kallimachos
*Before Charles [Davies Sherborn]

9. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Roget
The Indexer’s Club

10. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Franklin
The Indexer’s Club

11. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Agassiz
1842–1846 1848–1854
The Indexer’s Club

12. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Coues
1878–1880
“Bibliography is a
necessary nuisance and
horrible drudgery that no
mere drudge could perform.
It takes a sort of inspired
idiot to be a good
bibliographer ...”
The Indexer’s Club

13. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Coues
1878–1880
“ ... and his inspiration is as
dangerous a gift as the
appetite of the gambler or
dipsomaniac—it grows
with what it feeds upon,
and finally possesses its
victim like any other
invincible vice.”
The Indexer’s Club

14. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspirations (B.C.)
– Scudder
1882–1884
The Indexer’s Club

15. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.*)
– Richmond
* After [Charles] Davies [Sherborn]
The Indexer’s Club

16. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.)
– Mathews
1925
The Indexer’s Club

17. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.)
– Schultze
1926–1954
The Indexer’s Club

18. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.)
– Neave
1939–1940
The Indexer’s Club

19. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.)
– Eschmeyer
1990
The Indexer’s Club

20. • Leaders / Founders / ? Inspired (A.D.)
– Thompson
1999–date
The Indexer’s Club

21. Sherborn Background
• Early Life

22. • Early Life
St. Luke’s, Chelsea
Sherborn Background

23. • Early Life
Sherborn Background

24. • Mid Life
Age 25 Age 32 Age 34
Sherborn Background

25. • Later in Life
Age 65 Age 74
Sherborn Background

26. • Home Life (49 Peterborough Rd.)
Sherborn Background

27. • Home Life (49 Peterborough Rd.)
Sherborn Background

28. • Home Life (49 Peterborough Rd.)
Sherborn Background

29. Sherborn Works
• Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating

30. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1888
Sherborn Works

31. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1890
Sherborn Works

32. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1893–1896
Sherborn Works

33. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1902
Sherborn Works

34. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1922–1933
Sherborn Works

35. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1891
Sherborn Works

36. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
1936
Sherborn Works

37. Sherborn Tidbits
• Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
“The systematist requires certain tools for his
work, of which not the least important are good
bibliographies and indexes.”
–C.D. Sherborn quoted in “Squire”, p. 49

38. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
Sherborn’s unending quest for books ended up
helping not only “build” the library of the Natural
History Museum, but make it in many cases the
only place or one of only a few places one can
find a copy of a rare book on zoology.
Sherborn Tidbits

39. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
Timeline for Index Animalium I
- began work in 1890
- published in October 1902
Sherborn Tidbits

40. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
Timeline for Index Animalium II
- began work in 1902?
- last part published in July 1933
Total time spent indexing animal
names from 1758 to 1850:
43 years
Sherborn Tidbits

41. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
The rarity of errors in the Index Animalium is a
testament to the thoroughness of the 11 years of
constant proofreading of Sherborn
However, there is one name omission
from a book he did see that is worthy
of note ...
There are some names omitted and
these are virtually all from works he
did not see and also include
subspecies he tended to ignore
Sherborn Tidbits

42. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
The work: Macquart (1834) “Histoire
Naturelle des Insectes. Diptères.”
The name: Laphria limbata Macquart
Sherborn Tidbits

43. • Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Dating
Sherborn Tidbits

44. Sherborn Tidbits

45. Sherborn Tidbits

46. Sherborn Tidbits

47. Sherborn Tidbits

48. Sherborn and Our Future

49. Sherborn and Our Future
• Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Neave

50. • Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Neave
Sherborn and Our Future

51. • Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Eschmeyer
Sherborn and Our Future

52. • Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Eschmeyer
Sherborn and Our Future

53. • Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Thompson
Sherborn and Our Future

54. • Leaders / Founders / ?Inspirations
– Thompson
Sherborn and Our Future

55. Sherborn and Our Future

56. Sherborn and Our Future

57. Sherborn and Our Future

58. Thanks!