Cervantes Editions Room I

The stock held at the museum is a remarkable collection of Cervantes editions, which is largely comprised of items valued by collectors because of their quality and rarity. Hence, it constitutes the museum’s most important collection, given its value and importance.

Two rooms situated on the upper floor are used to exhibit this collection, which is organized by language. The first room holds the editions in Spanish and in languages of the autonomous communities; works published from the 17th century onwards, with splendid illustrations.

Amongst the Spanish-language editions of Don Quuixote, of particular interest are: the Lisbon edition of 1605; the first illustrated Spanish edition (Madrid, 1674); the first edition in the original language published in England (London, 1738); and the Royal Spanish Academy edition (Madrid, 1780).

Cervantes Editions Room II

This room displays Cervantine editions in other languages, and comprises works published from the 17^th century onwards, illustrated with splendid prints by the finest illustrators of Don Quixote.There is also a panel with large photographs showing some of the title pages and engraved prints, highlighting the importance of these editions.

The exhibition rooms for this collection contain special showcases with sliding drawers. They are made of solid wood and illuminated with low intensity lighting to prevent damage to this bibliographical heritage with its special conservation requirements.

Exceptionally significant editions of Don Quixote in other languages include: the first English edition of Part II of the novel (London, 1620), the first illustrated English edition (London, 1687), the first Danish edition (Copenhagen, 1776-77). There are also editions of this work in many other languages (Russian, Chinese, Parsee,…), illustrated by such artists as Coypel, Vanderbank, Doré, Dalí, …