The book as art

The holdings, the legacy of multiple benefactors, include 11,000 + volumes, of which about 6,000 are rare. The collection seeks to present the creative processes, inventions, and technologies that made one of humanity’s greatest achievements, the book, possible. 

The collection has nearly 400 incunabula which represent the transition to typographic books, made by individual cast-metal movable type pieces on a printing press. An important invention that lowered book-producing costs and contributed to spreading knowledge faster!

Among the treasured works are two royal decrees signed in 1493 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Fernando and Isabel, believed to be the oldest documents in America related to Christopher Columbus and his second voyage on which he arrived in Puerto Rico.

The collection houses the Latin Bible, printed by J. Gutenberg, circa 1456; a 1493 copy of "The Nuremberg Chronicles” by H. Schedel; and the "Suma Teológica" by St. Thomas Aquinas, printed in Spain in 1477, the only existing copy in America. 

Near 500 16th Century books are included, some of which maintain the most primitive characteristics of the incunabula period. Among them are "Occeanea decas" by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, which shows the first printed map of Puerto Rico, and the extraordinary "Polyglot Bible".

Among the different versions of "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de La Mancha” written by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, it is worth mentioning one printed in Valencia in 1605, the first year of publication in Madrid, and a second one printed by Juan de la Cuesta in 1608.

Books of the 19th and 20th centuries that stand out for their uniqueness, beauty, content, or rarity are also well represented in the collection. These include the "Chaucer," printed by William Morris at his Kelmscott Press and illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones.

The collection includes over 5,000 books recognized as useful references in art history, book arts printing, engraving, illustration, paper, ink, calligraphy, movable types, typography, binding, artist biographies, and history.

La Casa del Libro’s collection also showcases outstanding graphic work from prominent Puerto Rican and international artists such as Lorenzo Homar, Jack and Irene Délano, Rafael Tufiño, Antonio Martorell, and Consuelo Gotay, among others.

La Casa del Libro inspires book lovers and beyond. The museum program offers temporary exhibits, educational activities, and book arts workshops to bring the humanities closer to the community and contribute to the reflection and understanding of the heritage by all sectors.