Vibal Foundation, UST release history book on 19th-Cen. printing, publishing

VIBAL Foundation, in partnership with the Miguel de Benavides Library of the University of Santo Tomas, jointly launched “Imprenta Ramírez y Giraudier: A Story of Late Nineteenth-Century Philippine Intellectuality,” written by historian Lino L. Dizon PhD.

The book provides an insight on how the establishment of the influential publishing firm Imprenta Ramírez y Giraudier (IRG)—through the efforts of its founding partners Don Manuel Ramírez y Carvajal, Baltazar Giraudier y Ortega and its visionary editor and writer José Felipe del Pan—became one of the crucial engines of Spanish-speaking society during the late 19th-Century colonial Philippines. The publication of its newspapers, novels, magazines and journals paved the way for the birth of important social movements such as the ilustrado class, the Propaganda movement and ultimately, the Philippine Revolution.

Aside from laying out the foundational influence of the IRG, Dr. Dizón also provided an overview of the history of print and publishing in the Philippines, and an authoritative listing of the firm’s many publications.

According to Marya Svetlana T. Camacho of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s History Department, “this book provides context and substance for an examination of modernity in the 19th-Century Philippines.”

Camacho added: “It shows the role of publishing in the so-called ‘Philippine Renaissance’ and in turn, how the latter served as a stimulus to the development of the Filipino conception of nation. Lino Dizón has filled in a gap in our knowledge of cultural life in the Spanish colonial Philippines, made even more accessible by the sample writings from periodical publications and the catalog of publications.”

The launch also pays tribute to UST Press—the second oldest press in the world that is still operational next to Cambridge University Press. Don Manuel Ramírez served as regente or director of the UST Press from 1848 to 1857, before collaborating with Baltazar Giraudier at the IRG.

Under his helm, Ramírez modernized the Dominican press when he acquired a sophisticated machine from Germany, which subsequently published several books, including Fr. Antonio Llanos’ “Fragmentos de algunas plantas de Filipinas no incluidas en la Flora de las Islas (1851),” a sequel to the classic “Flora de Filipinas (1837)” by Fr. Manuel Blanco.

Available in hardcover and softcover editions, the book may be purchased online at the Vibal Shop (https://shop.vibalgroup.com), Shopee, Lazada, GrabMart and Amazon. For bulk orders, contact marketing@vibalgroup.com.