Introduction

The Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico is  pleased to present this new collection about Benito Pérez Galdós (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1843 – Madrid, 1920). It includes many of his printed works and manuscripts, as well as different materials from his personal archives, complemented by information about the author's life and literature.

These resources come, primarily, from the Casa-Museo de Pérez Galdós, which possesses one of the most important galdosian collections in existence,  full of valuable and unique materials. The Casa-Museo Pérez Galdós' collection has been digitalized by the Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria. It encompasses 145 manuscripts, 98 printed books, over 9,300 letters, some theatrical plays, galley proofs, 133 pencil drawings made by the author on separate paper sheets, and 407 of the original drawings that were used in the illustrated edition of the first two series of the Episodios Nacionales (1881-1885). 427 photographs have also been digitalized. 

Among his manuscripts there are drafts Pérez Galdós used to write his works with.

Benito was not only notable for his  writing abilities, but also because of his pencil drawing technique. The La Casa-Museo Pérez Galdós possesses a rich collection of drawings he made. 

The museum also has 407 of the original illustrations that appeared in the illustrated edition of the first two series of the Episodios Nacionales, which were other artists were commissioned to make.

9,300 letters and other types of correspondence from his personal records have also been digitalized. Among them we can find the following letter, written by Benito Pérez Galdós and addressed to his friends Pepe Galiano and Mary. The author admits in it that he has become a republican without asking for their permission. He adds: "I have the misfortune of being a deputy to Madrid, and also of being a member of the Comission of the Internal Governance of Congress".

A great number of galley proofs were digitalized as well. Galley proofs are print tests of a book or one of its fragments that are used to make correctins in the text before the final printing.

The Casa-Museo Pérez Galdós collection also keeps the author's photographs, including those given to him with written dedications. 

Among those pictures some stereoscopics. Stereoscopy is based on the way human sight works, and the separation of approximately 65 mm that exists between one eye and the other. Each of them receives a different image that the brain then merges into one, creating the effect of tridimensionality.

Theatre is another of the literary genres Galdós' work stood in, but his plays only achieved modest success. His vocation for theatre became evident early on in his life, and he spent many nights writing both tragedies and comedies. A great number of his plays have been digitalized, such as:

This collection is complemented by works and copies of Galdós' books that come from several different libraries, like the Biblioteca Pública del Estado de Teruel, the Biblioteca Central Militar (Madrid), the Instituto de Educación Secundaria Cervantes, the Museo del Traje, Museo Nacional de Cerámica y de las Artes Suntuarias González Martí or Isidora Ediciones.