[Caricature of] Ricardo Palma by Cao] (1917/1917) by Xosé María CaoNational Library of Peru
Ricardo Palma was a multifaceted character
He was born in Lima, in 1833. Writer, journalist and politician, at the age of 20 he was an officer in the Peruvian Navy and served on various ships; and in 1860, he was exiled to Chile for participating in political revolts.
Noted writer and political actor
Between 1864 and 1865 he traveled to Brazil, Europe and the United States, and upon his return he participated in the Battle of May 2. In 1868, he held political office. During the Pacific War he defended the Peruvian capital, after which he undertook the reconstruction of the National Library.
Palma began writing poems and plays
He studied at the San Carlos school where he made influential friends while he stood out as a political chronicler. At the age of 20 he joined the Navy as an officer. He served until 1859, during this period he kept writing and participated in some political revolts.
Until 1872, when the rebellion of the Gutiérrez brothers ended with the assassination of the then president. This fact took him away from politics, so he began to dedicate himself to research. He became the right hand of Manuel de Odriozola, director of the National Library.
This distanced him from politics, so he turned his attention to research. He became the right-hand man of Manuel de Odriozola, director of the National Library.
Firefighters working to put out fire at the National Library (1943) by AnonymousNational Library of Peru
Ricardo Palma and books as loot
During the Pacific War, when the enemy army entered Lima, Palma participated in the defense of the city in Miraflores.
The Peruvian defeat
In February 1881, after the Peruvian defeat the capital was taken. Many institutions were looted and taken, and Odriozola was demanded to hand over the keys to the National Library.
"Crime against civilization"
Letter of March 10, 1881 written by Palma and signed by Manuel de Odriozola addressed to Mr. Christiancy, plenipotentiary minister of the United States.
This classifies the looting of the library as a "crime against civilization."
Our library was considered one of the most important in South America; However, after these events, of the 56,000 copies it contained, 738 were found.
Rest of book burned and wet after fire in the National Library of Peru (1943) by AnonymousNational Library of Peru
The library was considered one of the most important in South America; However, after these events, of the 56,000 copies it contained, 738 were found.
Interior of the Chamber of Deputies (1898) by Fernando GarreaudNational Library of Peru
"The Library [...] has been raided, as if the books represented war material. When I address Your Excellency, I do so so that, before your enlightened government, before America and before all of humanity, the protest that […] I formulate […] is recorded."
Handwritten note on the book (1883) by Ricardo PalmaNational Library of Peru
New Director for the Library
In 1883, De Lavalle, minister of President Miguel Iglesias, asked Palma to be the director of the Library and to rebuild it.
Palma accepted and did the work, got the Peruvians to return books, got some books returned from Chile and then solicited donations.
"A beautiful work of chiromancy"
One of the copies that he managed to recover was the Opus Pulcherrimuz, one of the jewels of The National Library of Peru.
This is a palmistry book that, according to Palma in the note he wrote on the first page, belonged to the liberator José de San Martín. He recovered it by purchasing it from a soldier.
New reading room of the National Library of Peru (1945) by AnonymousNational Library of Peru
The reopening of the Library
Palma had eight months to rebuild the Library and he succeeded. On July 28, 1884, it was reopened with 27,984 copies. Later, he dedicated himself to acquiring more books, unified the library with the National Archive, added a newspaper section, among other actions.
Commemorative medal for the reopening of the National Library of Peru. The image was printed on the back of the invitations for the ceremony that took place on July 28, 1884.
Annotation by Ricardo Palma in the book Christian doctrine, and catechism for the instruction of the Indians...National Library of Peru
Notes in the margins
Palma placed annotations in the margins of some of the Library's books and manuscripts.
In these notes we appreciate their evaluations of the works, comments on their content or style, and, in some cases, they provide additional information about them.
A incunabulum of the library
The book "Doctrina Crhristiana" is an incunabulum of the library. It contains religious texts in Quechua, Aymara and Spanish, and was made to promote evangelization in our territory. In this copy, Palma left a comment indicating that it was the first book printed in Lima in 1584.
[Ricardo Palma in his office at the National Library of Peru] by UnknownNational Library of Peru
Management balances: institutional reports
As part of his work as director, Palma was the first to prepare institutional reports to provide information about his management.
These collected, for example, reports on the acquisition of books and collections, regulations, employees, among other information.
[Ricardo Palma concentrated in his office at the National Library of Peru] ([1908]) by UnknownNational Library of Peru
[Ricardo Palma in the foyer of the theater where he was offered a ceremony of redress for his dismissal from the National Library of Peru] ([1912]) by UnknownNational Library of Peru
Palma's resignation and his final years
After several years of work, Palma resigned from the library in 1912 due to disagreements with President Augusto B. Leguía.
In response to this, personalities and friends of the writer organised a ceremony of atonement.
His last years
He dedicated them to the Academia de la Lengua (Language Academy) and his family life.
Photographs of Variedades magazine
Under a new president, Palma was named honorary director of the Library from 1914 to 1916, when he resigned permanently. He spent his last years in his house in Miraflores.
Article "La Gran Velada" In honor of Don Ricardo Palma (1912)
Bibliography
National Library of Peru. (2021). Imaginary and memory. 200 years of the National Library of Peru. Lima: National Library of Peru.
Peru Memory. (s.f.). Ricardo Palma. Guardian of heritage at the turn of the century. https://memoriaperu.bnp.gob.pe/#/micrositio19/ricardo-palma
Tamayo, A. (2019). Ricardo Palma, spirit of the Peruvian. Lima: Argos.
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