Archivo del Bibliófilo Filipino is a significant multi-volume collection of documents and bibliographical studies related to the history, culture, and affairs of the Philippines, compiled by the Spanish journalist, historian, and bibliophile Wenceslao Emilio Retana. Volume Two, published in Madrid in 1896, is particularly relevant as it appeared during the height of the Philippine Revolution (which began in August 1896) against Spanish colonial rule. Retana, initially a staunch defender of the Spanish colonial government and a critic of Filipino reformists like José Rizal, later became a notable Filipinist scholar, dedicating his life to preserving and studying the documents of the Spanish colonial era. This work serves as an essential primary and secondary source, preserving rare and scattered historical, political, scientific, and literary materials that shed light on the Philippines just before the end of the Spanish Empire's centuries-long rule in the archipelago. The collection provides invaluable source material for the study of 19th-century Philippines and the roots of the nationalist movement.
Archivo del Bibliófilo Filipino: Recopilación de documentos históricos, científicos, literarios y políticos, y estudios bibliográficos. Tomo Segundo.