Ellis v. Panizzi: An Unequal Cataloging Contest

In the history of the British Museum, principal librarian Sir Henry Ellis has been depicted as a reactionary bumbler who held back the reform of the department of printed books by its dynamic keeper, Antonio Panizzi. The two came into conflict over the new catalog being prepared under Panizzi's direction, and Ellis was defeated. Yet a disinterested appraisal of the details of their quarrel, as recorded in a rare source, generates some sympathy for Ellis. The documents involved in the negotiations over the catalog during the 1840s were printed in an appendix to the report of the royal commission on the British Museum, 1850; but only twelve copies of the appendix were issued, and only two of these are now known to exist. They reveal that Sir Henry was able to score a few points against Panizzi, who proved to be an overzealous protagonist-and unnecessarily so, in the light of his eventual victory over the conservative forces in the museum. Ellis deserves to have his side of the controversy acknowledged.