This document is a critical collection of primary source materials for understanding the Philippine Propaganda Movement and the roots of the Philippine Revolution. It compiles the personal and political correspondence of Marcelo H. Del Pilar (Plaridel), a key national hero, lawyer, and propagandist who edited the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad in Spain. The letters, dating from the last decade of the 19th century, offer an unfiltered view of the political climate in the Philippines, including clear and honest expressions of Filipino sentiment against the abuses of the Spanish colonial government and the powerful religious orders (the friars). The compilation was originally planned in 1939 but was destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. It was faithfully reconstructed and published in 1955 by the Philippine Office of Public Libraries (now the National Library of the Philippines) as Volume 20 of its Documentos series, signifying its vital importance to the nation's cultural and historical heritage.
Epistolario de Marcelo H. Del Pilar: Tomo I (Documents of the Office of Public Libraries, No. 20)