The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline)

Philippine Book History

TIMELINE, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries

Prepared by Patricia May Jurilla (PhD), University of the Philippines (Diliman)

This timeline offers a selective overview of the history of the book in the Philippines. It is by no means a complete listing of all the events in the life of the Philippine book.

Please do not reproduce without permission. To reference, link to this blog post.

1531. Queen Isabella, acting in behalf of the Spanish monarch Charles I, prohibits the transmission of books of fiction or secular matters into the Spanish colonies.[i]

1543. The Prince (later Philip II) maintains the prohibition on the entry of books of profanity and fiction into the Indies and forbids the printing, selling, and bearing of such items in the colonies.[ii]

1556. Philip II orders that the printing or sale of any book on the Indies is not permitted unless it has special licence from the Royal Council of Indies.[iii]

1583. The Inquisition of New Spain (Mexico) institutes a branch under the Holy Office of the Bishop of Manila, which was tasked with the inspection of incoming ships for books and the confiscation of volumes listed in the Index of Forbidden Books.[iv]

1584. Philip II orders that no grammar or vocabulary in the language of the indios may be published, printed, or used without the examination of the Bishop and the Royal Audencia.[v]

1593. Doctrina Christiana en lengua española y tagala (Doctrina Christiana in Spanish and Tagalog), printed in Manila, at the San Gabriel church of the Dominican order.[vi] Produced by xylography (wood block printing).

1593. Hsin-k’o seng-shih Kao-mu Hsien chaun Wu-chi t’ien-chu cheng-chiao chen-chuan shih-lu (‘A printed edition of the veritable record of the authentic tradition of the true faith in the Infinite God, by the religious master Kao-mu Hsien’), by the Dominican friar Juan Cobo, printed in Manila.[vii] Produced by xylography.

1604. Libro de las quatro postrimerias del hombre en lengua tagala, y letra española (The Book on the Four Last Things of Man in Tagalog and Spanish), by the Dominican friar Francisco Blancas de San José, printed in Manila by Juan de Vera.[viii] Believed to be the first Philippine book produced by typography.

1604. Ordinationes generales provintiae Sanctissimi Rosarii Philippinarum (The General Ordinances of the Philippine Province of the Holy Rosary), printed in Manila by de Vera. Earliest surviving typographical book.

c.1605-1607. Doctrina christiana en letra y lengua china, compuesta por los padres ministros de los Sangleyes, de la Orden de sancto Domingo Con licencia, por Keng yong, china, en el parian de Manila (Doctrina Christiana in Chinese letters and language, prepared by the ministerial fathers of the Sangleys, of the Order of St Dominic With licence, by Keng Yong, Chinese, in the parian of Manila).

1610. Arte y reglas de la lengua tagala (Art and Rules of the Tagalog Language), by Blancas de San José, printed by Tomas Pinpin for the Dominican press. First Tagalog grammar published.

1610. Librong pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang uicang Castilla, by Pinpin, printed by Diego Talaghay for the Dominican press. First published book written by a native. The volume also contains a guide for confession in Tagalog and Spanish (Interrogatorio para Confession, compuesto en ambas lenguas Tagala, y Española) prepared by Blancas de San José.

1610. Doctrina christiana Rob. Bellarmini in linguam bisayam translata by Cristóbal Jiménez. First book published in Visayan.

1617. Arte de la lengua Pampanga by Francisco Coronel. First book published in Kapampangan.

1618. The Augustinians set up their printing press.[ix]

1621. Libro a naisuratan amin a bagas ti Doctrina Cristiana by Francisco Lopez. First book published in Iloko.

c.1622. Printing press of the Jesuits established.[x]

1647. Arte de la lengua Bicolana by Andres de San Agustin. First book published in Bikol.

1692. Printing press of the Franciscans established.[xi]

1703. Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesucristong P. Nacion na tola at ipinanagang sa cataastaasang Poong Jesus Nazareno, by Gaspar Aquino de Belen, printed by the Jesuit press in one volume together with Manga panalanging pagtatagobilin sa caloloua nang taoung naghihingalo, translated by Aquino de Belen from the Spanish version of Ordo Commendationis Animarum by Thomas de Villacastin.

Other Tagalog versions of the pasyon:

Pasion de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo (1740)

Casaysayan nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Puso Nang Sinomang Babasa (1814)

El libro de la vida: historia sagrada con santas reflexiones y doctrinas morales para la vida cristiana en verso tagalo (1852).[xii]

Various versions of the pasyon in other native languages were published beginning in the mid-1880s.

1712. Aral na tunay na totoong pag aacay sa tauo nang manga cabanalang gaua nang manga maloualhating santos na sina Barlaan at Josaphat, Tagalog translation by Antonio de Borja, published by the Jesuit press.

THE GROWTH OF PRINTING DURING THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD

1811. 8 AUG. Appearance of the first issue of Del Superior Gobierno.

1830s. Emergence of private printing presses in Manila.

1838. Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Florante at ni Laura sa kahariang Albania na kinuha sa madlang ‘cuadro historico’ o pinturang nagsasabi sa mga nangyayari nang unang panahon sa imperio ng Grecia at tinula ng isang matuwain sa bersong Tagalog, by Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas), published in Manila by the Colegio de Santo Tómas press.[xiii]

1856. Establishment of the Comisión Permanente de Censura (Permanent Commission of Censorship).

1857. Spanish colonial government issues rules for printing.

1870s. Emergence of private presses in other cities of the country.

1871. First copyright law in the Philippines passed by Governor Rafael de Izquierdo.

RIZAL’S NOVELS AND THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION

1887. feb. Noli Me Tangere published in Berlin.

1887. 29 dec. Noli banned by censors.

1891. sep. El Filibusterismo published in Ghent.

1896 . MAR. First issue of the Katipunan’s official organ Kalayaan.

PUBLISHING ACTIVITY DURING THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION

1899. The Tagalog newspaper Ang Kapatid ng Bayan begins circulation, followed by Ang Kalinawagan (1900), and Muling Pagsilang (1901).

Other newspapers in the regional languages also established in the major cities of the country during the same period.

1899 12 AUG-8 SEP. Publication of first Tagalog novel Cababalaghan ni P. Bravo by Gabriel Beato Francisco, serialised in Ang Kapatid ng Bayan.[xiv]

1901. American textbooks begin circulating through the public school system. Leading in distribution was The Baldwin Primer by May Kirk, published in New York by the American Book Company.

1905 . First Tagalog novel in book form published: Ang Kasaysayan ng Magkaibigang Nena at Neneng by Valeriano Hernandez y Peña.

1905-1921. ‘Golden Age’ of the Tagalog novel.

1918. The Philippine Readers (‘Osias Readers’), by Camilo Osias, published in the US and circulated in Philippine public schools.

1920s. Textbooks for public schools begin to be published locally.

1920s . Filipino literary writings in English begin appearing in periodicals such as the Philippines Free Press (established in 1908), The Tribune (1926), Graphic (1927), Philippines Herald Mid-Week Magazine (1931), and The Woman’s World (1934).

1920s. First books of Philippine literature in English produced:

1921 A Child of Sorrow, novel by Zoilo M. Galang

c.1922 “Never Mind” and Other Poems by Procopio L. Solidum

1923 Tales of the Philippines by Zoilo M. Galang

1924 Daughters for Sale, and Other Plays by Carlos P. Romulo

1924 Filipino Poetry, anthology compiled by Rodolfo Dato

1927 Filipino Love Stories, anthology edited by Paz Marquez-Benitez

1927 Philippine Prose and Poetry, anthology published by the Bureau of Education for use in high schools

1930 Philippine Plays, anthology edited by Sol Gwekoh

1922. Liwayway begins publication.

1924 . Copyright law (Act No. 3134) passed.

1930s. National Book Store established.

1937. President Manuel L. Quezon proclaims the language based on Tagalog as the national language of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 134).

1938. Goodwill Bookstore established.

1940. Quezon authorises the printing of the Tagalog-English dictionary and Tagalog grammar created by the Institute of National Language and decrees that the national language be taught at the secondary and tertiary levels in all public and private schools in the Philippines beginning 19 June 1940 (EO No. 263).

THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION AND WORLD WAR II

Nearly all publishing firms shut down or sequestered by the Japanese forces.

Only seven books published in the Philippines during the period.

1945 Destruction of the National Library during the liberation from the Japanese.

POST WAR BOOK PUBLISHING

1945. Alemar’s established.

1946. Bookmark established.

1946. Halakhak Komiks launched.

1947. Establishment of Ace Publications, publisher of Pilipino Komiks (launched in 1947), Tagalog Klasiks (1949), Hiwaga Komiks (1950), and Espesyal Komiks (1952).

1951. Importation of elementary textbooks and supplementary readers prohibited (EO No. 471).

1954. Philippine Contemporary Writing series of books launched, published by the Benipayo Press.

1958. Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA) formed by local publishers to develop, promote, and protect the publication of Filipino textbooks.

1960s. Literary publishing ventures undertaken by writers: Andres Cristobal Cruz (the literary journal Signatures and the Filipino Signatures book series), Alberto S. Florentino (Peso Books, Makata, Storymasters series and other various titles), F. Sionil Jose (the magazine Solidarity and his own novels), Rolando A. Carbonell (his own writings and other titles under the Horizons Book House).

1965. The University of the Philippines (UP) Press established.

1972 . The Ateneo de Manila University Press established.

early 1970s. New Day Publishing established.

MARTIAL LAW UNDER MARCOS

1972. Decree on Intellectual Property (Presidential Decree No. 49) issued.

1973. PD No. 285 authorises reprinting of domestic or foreign books (educational, scientific, and cultural materials).

1975. Decree on Legal and Cultural Deposit (PD No. 812) passed.

1977. PD No. 1203 authorises reprinting of domestic or foreign books (textbooks and reference books).

1976. Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) established by private publishers to raise public awareness on books and to seek government support for local publishing.

1980. Adarna House established, publisher of children’s literature.

1981. BDAP issues a ‘white paper’ on the state of the book publishing industry.

1983. De La Salle University (DLSU) Press established.

1986. Books for Pleasure established, publisher of Tagalog romance novels.

1980s. Coffee-table book publishing ‘boom’.

PUBLISHING AFTER THE EDSA REVOLUTION

1986. Panitikang Pilipino project launched collaboratively by presses of the Ateneo, DLSU, and UP.

1989. First Philippine Book Fair held.

1990. Anvil Publishing established.

1995 . Book Publishing Industry Development Act (Republic Act No. 8047); National Book Development Board (NBDB) created.

1996. PowerBooks established.

late 1990s. Filipino Bookstores established.

1998. 1 jan. Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA No. 8293) takes effect.

2002. National Book Store issues a policy of dropping slow-selling titles from their inventory, setting the acceptable sales figure per title at a minimum of one hundred copies a month.

2003. Bookmark begins closing its retail outlets, including the Filipino Bookstores.

2003. Survey on Reading Attitudes and Preferences of Filipinos conducted by the Social Weather Station, commissioned by NBDB.

[i] Seville, Archivo General de Indias, Indiferente general, Contratación, 148-2-2, Provision by the Queen to the House of Trade in Ocaña, 4 April 1531; quoted in trans. in Irving A. Leonard, Books of the Brave: Being an Account of Books and of Men in the Spanish Conquest and Settlement of the Sixteenth-Century New World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1949; repr. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992), p. 81.

[ii] Recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las Indias. Mandada imprimir y publicar por la Magestad Catolica del Rey Don Carlos II, 4 vols (Madrid: Antonio Balbas, 1756), i, law iiij, title xxiv, quoted in Vicente S. Hernández, History of Books and Libraries in the Philippines 1521-1900 (Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1996), p. 107.

[iii] Recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las Indias, i, law i, title xxiv, quoted in José Toribio Medina, La imprenta en Manila desde sus origenes hasta 1810 (Santiago de Chile: Impreso y grabado en casa del autor, 1896), p. xxiv.

[iv] Pedro de los Rios, et al., ‘Instructions to the Commissary of the Inquisition [in Manila]’, Mexico, 1 March 1583; trans. in Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands 1493-1898, 55 vols (Cleveland, Ohio: Arthur H. Clark, 1903-1909; repr. Mandaluyong: Cacho Hermanos, 1973), v, 256-73.

[v] Recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las Indias, i, law iij, title xxiv, quoted in Medina, p. xxiv.

[vi] See Edwin Wolf 2nd, Doctrina Christiana: The First Book Printed in the Philippines, Manila, 1593 (Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 1947), and also P. van der Loon, ‘The Manila Incunabula and Early Hokkien Studies’, Asia Major: A British Journal of Far Eastern Studies, 12.1 (1966; repr. Manila: Philippine Historical Commission, n.d.), 1-43.

[vii] See van der Loon, and also Fidel Villarroel, Pien Cheng-Chiao Chen-Chúan Shih-lu, Testimony of the True Religion: First Book Printed in the Philippines? (Manila: University of Santo Tomas Press, 1986).

[viii] Van der Loon, p. 37-9.

[ix] W. E. Retana, Tablas cronológica y alfabética de Imprentas é Impresores de Filipinas (1593-1898) (Madrid: Librería General de Victoriano Suárez, 1908), p. 91.

[x] W. E. Retana, La imprenta en Filipinas: Adiciones y observaciones á La Imprenta en Manila de D. J. T. Medina (Madrid: Imprenta de la viuda M. Minuesa de Los Ríos, 1897) p. 39.

[xi] Hernández, p. 40.

[xii] René B. Javellana, S.J., ‘Introduction’, in Casaysayan Nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin Na Sucat na Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Sinomang Babasa (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1988), pp. 1-42 (p. 9).

[xiii] Hermenegildo Cruz, Kun Sino Ang Kumathâ Ng “Florante”: Kasaysayan Ng Búhay ni Francisco Baltazar at Pag-Uulat Nang Kanyang Karununga’t Kadakilaan (Maynila: Librería “Manila Filatélico”, 1906), p. 39. While generally accepted by scholars, the date and details of this first edition remain conjectural due to the absence of bibliographical and typographical evidence.

[xiv] Resil B. Mojares, Origins and Rise of the Filipino Novel: A Generic Study of the Novel Until 1940, 2nd edn (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1998), p. 170.

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June 15, 2007 Written by: tin | Filed Under Miscellany

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2 Responses to “The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline)”

Read Or Die Weblog » Blog Archive » Coming Soon: The Amazing Dr. Rizal on June 16th, 2007 1:40 pm

[…] support for what certainly is a very important literary genre in our history (see, for instance this timeline of the history of the book and publishing in the Philippines, which shows that for a significant […]
Read Or Die Weblog » Blog Archive » The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline) on July 4th, 2007 1:35 am

[…] The History Of The Book In The Philippines (A Timeline) by Patricia May Jurilla (PhD) […]

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