Rizal's Books and Memorabilia at the Living with Nature Center - In Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Philippine Independence (June 12, 2023)

Rizal's Books and Memorabilia 

at the Living with Nature Center

In Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Philippine 

Independence (June 12, 2023)

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

 Antique box crafted with old Philippine coins and a rare 

reverse portrait of the national hero.  It contains memorabilia 

about the life of the national hero, such as his writings and

correspondences. 

 

Facsimiles of the original classical works of Rizal - Noli Me Tangere

(Touch Me Not) and its sequel El Filibusterismo - that spurred

Philippine Revolution and subsequent freedom from Spain,

thus ending an almost 400 years of colonial rule. Noli Me Tangere

is considered one of the best novels ever written in the ranks

of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

 

Posthumous portrait and the only portrait of Rizal painted by national artist Fernando Amorsolo years after the hero's death. Amorsolo based this painting on an early black and white photograph.

You still find copies of these books at the bookstore. Rizal is a 3-unit subject required in a number of courses in college. I taught Rizal at St Paul University in QC in the eighties for humanities and communication, as well as other social science courses.

 

A rare book about Rizal in old cloth bind. Right, a textbook in Philippine history written by one of the most respected Philippine historians from UP, Teodoro A Agoncillo, I had the chance to use the draft copy of the book when I took up the subject at the Lyceum of the Philippines in early 1960s under the late Professor Paulino M Capitulo.

 .

Left, Noli published worldwide by Penguin Books. I received an early copy of the book, compliment of my niece, Miss Elda Rotor who is a member of the editorial staff of Penguin Books based in New York. There are versions of Noli in Pilipino and English published locally, among them textbooks written by veteran historian Gregorio Zaide. These books are still used in secondary and tertiary schools.

 

  

Rizal's writings make several soft bound copies such as these shown above. One thing we are happy about is that Rizal's writings are preserved, unlike the works of Jose Burgos whose numerous writings are nowhere to be found. (Search Jose P Burgos in this Blog) ~