Antonio Paz and Melia

Antonio Paz y Mélia (Talavera de la Reina, 1842-Madrid, January 13, 1927) was a Spanish bibliographer and historian, father of historian Julián Paz and grandfather of bibliographer Ramón Paz.

Biography

Born in 1842 in the Toledo town of Talavera de la Reina, he completed his first studies in that city with "an old ecclesiastic" and later he would graduate in Philosophy and Letters from the Central University. He was employed by opposition of the Bank of Spain in 1866; Enrolled in the ESD, he belonged to the body of Archivists, Librarians and Archaeologists since 1869 and worked as head of the Department of Manuscripts in the National Library of Madrid. He was also a librarian in the ducal houses of Alba and Medinaceli. He retired in 1911, after having been general secretary of the Facultative Body of Archivists, Librarians and Archaeologists and second head of the National Library (1887-1892).

He was a friend of the Count of Las Navas, Juan Gualberto López-Valdemoro, and managed to incorporate that of the Duke of Osuna into the collections of the National Library. He promoted the Historical-European Exposition of 1892 and prepared, during the direction of Manuel Tamayo y Baus, the transfer of the National Library from the old building in Plaza de la Encarnación to the Palacio de Recoletos where it is currently located. He was a member of the official Organizing Commission of the Archivo de Indias, traditionally linked to the Ministry of Overseas, before it became dependent on the Ministry of Development and the Corps of Archivists.

He actively collaborated in various periodicals: La Ilustración Española y Americana, Revista de Archivos and Bulletin Hispanique. He published the Catalog of the manuscript plays of the National Library in two volumes (1934). The catalogs of the archives of the Casa de Alba and the Casa de Medinaceli are also due to him. He collaborated in Collection of unpublished documents for the History of Spain , Collection of Castilian Writers and Spanish Bibliophiles . He studied and edited texts by Juan Rodríguez de la Cámara, Gómez Manrique, Alfonso de Palencia, Fernando de la Torre, Juan de Castellanos, Jerónimo de Barrionuevo, Juan de Escóiquiz etc. and literary chronicles and booklets from the XIV to the XVI. Especially important was his edition of the Alba Bible translated from Hebrew by the Spanish-Jewish man from Guadalajara Moisés Arragel (1920-1922). As a creator he composed only one comedy, titled Los cautivos .

He also collaborated in projects inspired by institutions such as the circulating libraries, in the team of Rafael Altamira, secretary of the National Pedagogical Museum, making "education available to workers".

Works

• Editing Bible. Old Testament. Translated from Hebrew to Spanish by Rabbi Mosé Arragel de Guadalfajara (1422 - 1433) and published by the Duke of Berwick and Alba Madrid: Art print, 1920 and 1922, 2 vols. Only 300 copies were made.
• Editing and Studying Conquest of Naples and Sicily and relationship of Moscovia for the Duke of Berwick. Madrid, 1890
• Editing and Studying Notices of Jerome of Barrionuevo (1654-1658). Previous news of the author's life and writings; Madrid, 1892-1893
• Edition of Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella, Rebellion of Pizarro in Peru and life of Pedro Gasca Madrid, 1889
• Life of Carlos III written by the count of Fernán-Núñez; published with the author's biography, appendices and notes by Alfred Morel-Fatio, and A. Paz and Mélia; and a prologue by Juan Valera. Madrid: bookshop of Fernando Fe, 1898.
• Editing Songbook by Gomez Manrique. Madrid, 1885
• Editing Spanish Sales or Agudezas of National Ingenuity Madrid, 1890-1902
• Juan de Castellanos Edition, History of the New Kingdom of Granada, Madrid, 1886.
• The issue of National Libraries and the dissemination of culture Madrid: 1911.
• The chronicler Alonso de Palencia: his life and his embraces; his decades and contemporary chronicles Madrid: The Hispanic Society of America, 1914
• Edition of the Memories of Juan de Escóiquiz (1807-1808) Madrid, 1915
• Editing Songbook and works for Fernando de la Torre. Dresden; Gesellschaft für Romanische Literatur, 1907.
• Series of the most important documents of the Archive and Library of His Excellency. Mr. Duque de Medinaceli Madrid, 1915-1922
• Series of the most important documents of the Archive and Library of the Exmo. Mr. Duque de Medinaceli. Madrid, 1915-1922
• Abbreviated catalogue of Inquisition papers Madrid, 1914