Cervantine manuscripts

1. Juan Sedó Peris-Mencheta’s collection (BNE)

Abstract

Don Quixote and other works by Miguel de Cervantes were transmitted as handwritten copies since the end of the nineteenth and throughout the twentieth century. They are unique remarkable pieces, born either out of the authors’ passion or to meet the demand of collectors who wanted to enrich their libraries with these culturally and artistically valuable copies, unattainable by anyone else. A particularly vast Cervantine collection was gathered by Juan Sedó PerisMencheta, whose library now belongs to the archive of the Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain). The Catalan Cervantophile’s voluminous correspondence with Arturo Xalambrí sheds light on details about the former’s acquisition and the value he set on his handwritten collection. A second issue of this article will address Arturo Xalambrí’s Cervantine manuscripts.