Sir Henry Wellcome is dead

Abstract

Abstract Without Wellcome, the collection lost its driving force, and, almost immediately, it began to fragment. Wellcome’s successors could not defend such a great, and expensive, material legacy, particularly when most of it was stashed away, out of sight and in a state of disarray. Had Wellcome successfully transformed his collection into a museum during his lifetime no doubt the story would have been different. Once completed, the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum might have provided a service to the public that justified its maintenance in perpetuity. As it was, Wellcome’s trustees were faced with thousands of unopened packing cases, many filled with artefacts of unknown provenance and quality. Now that Wellcome’s vision could no longer hold this largely impenetrable collection together, practical and financial considerations took precedence for the first time and dictated that the collection must be rationalized.