The Provenance of the Robinson and Mississippi Papyri

Abstract The Robinson Papyri and the Mississippi Papyri were first introduced by William H. Willis at the ninth International Congress of Papyrology. This article deconstructs Willis’s paper and, using archival evidence, reconstructs the provenance and makeup of these two distinct collections, moving past Willis’s presentation to provide the history of both collections since 1958. The author brings to light the cross contamination and mislabeling between the Robinson and Mississippi Papyri collections caused by Willis and argues that some pieces published as “Robinson Papyri” are parts of other collections.