Special collections
Bibliographic exhibition "Exclòs de préstec"
A selection of library unknown collections
Find out moreThe special collections of the Pompeu Fabra University Library/CRAI are bibliographic collections that, due to their origin or subject, have a number of distinctive features that make them unique. Some of these collections provide access to primary resources, which are the basis of research and are mainly intended for researchers. These collections are, on the whole, a source for the dissemination of history and culture.
Some collections have restricted access. If you would like to consult any of them, please contact us so that we can deal with your request in the best possible way.
Ancient legal literature collection
Bibliographic collection | Law
Donated by Josep M. Pons i Guri (1909-2005)
Jurist and historian
Digitized collection consisting of the 19 volumes of the ancient legal literature collection. It includes various works on Roman law, ecclesiastic law and Catalan law, such as the Usatges, as well as works by ancient Catalan jurists, such as Jaume Callís.
Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona collection
Bibliographic collection | Economy
On loan from the Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona
Collection of works on the Spanish economy of the late 19th and early 20th century and, to a lesser extent, international economics. The pamphlet collection is digitized.
Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona pamphlet collection
Bibliographic collection | Economy
On loan from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
Digitized collection of pamphlets from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce collection consisting of 1,300 pamphlets on the Spanish economy of the late 19th and early 20th century. This collection is part of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce collection.
Carles Cardó manuscript collection
Personal collection | Philosophy and religion
Donated by Assumpció Vidal (widow of George J.G. Cheyne, British writer and Hispanist)
Document collection including the correspondence between the clergyman and writer Carles Cardó i Sanjoan (1884-1958) and Joan Francesc Vidal Jové. It also contains, amongst other documents, unpublished poems by Carles Cardó and his commentary on the work Histoire spirituelle des Espagnes.
Collection from the Habsburg reigns
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Documents from the Joan Crexell collection and Josep Fontana i Lázaro donation
Digitized collection consisting of 164 documents published during the reigns of the Habsburg dynasty kings (between 1500 and 1680). They include legal, administrative, political and propagandistic writings.
Also accessible through the portal Crònica: fullets històrics en el mapa, which allows users to search for historical pamphlets by year and place of authorship/publication using an interactive map.
Collection from the reigns of Ferdinand VI, Charles III and Charles IV
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Documents from the Joan Crexell collection and Josep Fontana i Lázaro donation
Digitized collection consisting of 549 pamphlets published or written between 1750 and 1814, during the reigns of Ferdinand VI, Charles III and Charles IV. They include legal, administrative, political and propagandistic writings that document the period spanning from the War of Spanish Succession to the Peninsular War or Guerra de la Independencia.
Also accessible through the portal Crònica: fullets històrics en el mapa, which allows users to search for historical pamphlets by year and place of authorship/publication using an interactive map.
Collection from the reigns of Ferdinand VII and Isabella II (1814-1868)
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Documents from the Joan Crexell collection, the Josep Fontana i Lázaro donation and the Nadal-Caparà Family donation
Digitized collection consisting of 700 pamphlets published during the reigns of Ferdinand VII and Isabella II. They include legal, administrative, political and propagandistic writings published during the two monarchs’ respective reigns (1814-1868).
Also accessible through the portal Crònica: fullets històrics en el mapa, which allows users to search for historical pamphlets by year and place of authorship/publication using an interactive map.
Collection of Tomasa Cuevas interviews with women who fought against the Franco regime
Personal collection | History and geography
Donated by Miguel Núñez (1920-2008)
Communist politician
Interviews conducted by Tomasa Cuevas Gutiérrez (1917-2007), a communist activist, with women she met at various Spanish prisons during the Franco regime, as well as women who fought against it.
Correspondence of Ceferino Ferret
Personal collection | History and geography
Donated by Josep Fontana i Lázaro (1931-2018)
Historian, bibliophile and publisher
Collection of letters addressed to Ceferino Ferret (1768-1832), jurist and auditor of the province and naval regiment of Barcelona. The collection includes the letters received both from family and friends and in relation to his professional activity.
DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) collection
Bibliographic collection | Language and literature
On loan from Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, a German academic exchange service
Collection of books sent annually to UPF’s German teaching staff to support their teaching work outside Germany, consisting mainly of literary works, graphic novels and dictionaries.
Dante collection
Bibliographic collection | Language and literature
Donated by the Alòs-Moner siblings
Collection of works compiled by the scholar Ramon d'Alòs-Moner i de Dou (1885-1939), a librarian and historian of culture, including editions of Dante’s works and studies on the poet in various languages (Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, German, Danish, Japanese, Russian, etc.).
Fèlix Martí Ambel religious documents collection
Bibliographic collection | Philosophy and religion
Donated by Fèlix Martí Ambel (1938- )
Lecturer and founder of the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia
Collection of manuscripts and liturgical or religious-themed books in various languages (Pali, Hindi, Arabic, Ge’ez, Burmese, Ukrainian and Russian) on different media.
Fons Josep Maria Micó
Bibliographic collection | Language and literature
Donation by Professor José María Micó (1961 - )
Professor at Pompeu Fabra University
Bibliographic collection on history of literary creation. It includes volumes on theory and history, as well as works on the creation of the main Romance literatures, with special emphasis on the field of Spanish literature.
Gabriel Jackson Archive
Personal collection | History and geography
The archive contains information created or collected by the Hispanist and historian Gabriel Jackson in the course of his research and teaching in Spain. Highlights include the work and information gathered to write his biography of Juan Negrín, as well as the factsheets on various topics of history collected to carry out his teaching and research activity.
Gianni Vattimo archive
Personal collection | Philosophy and religion
On loan from Gianni Vattimo (Turin, Italy, 1936-2023)
Italian philosopher and politician
The Gianni Vattimo archive includes the Italian philosopher’s personal documents, in large part the fruit of his academic work as a teacher, researcher and manager. It also includes documents related to his political activity and personal documents.
Haas collection
Bibliographic collection | Philosophy and religion
Donated by Alois M. Haas (1934- )
Germanist and scholar of German and Hispanic mysticism and the history of religion
Collection of works on theology, religious studies, philosophy, philology and art. The set of 16th- and 17th-century printed works are of particular note due to their bibliographic value, as are the 17th- and 18th-century works related to the religious process of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.
Hijo de Ramón Alonso Ramos shipping company document collection
Corporate collection | History and geography
Donated by the heirs of the Hijo de Ramón Alonso Ramos shipping company
Collection of documents from the Hijo de Ramón Alonso Ramos shipping company, founded in 1845 by Ramón Alonso Ramos Charcos in Ribadeo. Most of the documents date from between 1936 and 1959.
INPUT Archive
Audiovisual Collection | Television
Collection held in deposit for INPUT, a non-profit organization of public television programme makers and broadcasters
The collection consists of the television programmes screened at the INPUT annual conference and documents associated with the conferences’ organization. INPUT selects the screened programmes for their innovative value, courage in addressing difficult topics or willingness to explore uncharted territory in television.
Institut Jaume Balmes collection (Barcelona)
Bibliographic collection | Philosophy and religion | History and geography | Language and literature
Donated by the Jaume Balmes Institute
Historical collection from the Library of the Jaume Balmes Institute, created in 1862. This mainly contains documents on language and classical and Romance literature, philosophy, history and theology, from the 15th to the 20th century.
Jaume Guillamet journalism collection
Personal collection | Journalism
Donated by Jaume Guillamet i Lloveras (1950- )
Journalist and historian
Journalism collection of Professor Jaume Guillamet i Lloveras including his published articles from 1968 to 2017. The collection consists of several genres of articles on a variety of topics, offering a view of the political and cultural history of Catalonia during this period.
Jaume Vicens i Vives Institute of History Library
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Partially donated by Josep Fontana i Lázaro (1931-2018)
Historian, bibliophile and publisher
Further expanded by UPF
Collection of works on a variety of subjects, including modern and contemporary history (of Catalonia, Spain and Europe), economic history, economics, literature, philosophy, etc.
Jaume Vicens i Vives manuscript collection
Personal collection | History and geography
Donated by Josep Fontana i Lázaro (1931-2018)
Historian, bibliophile and publisher
Collection of unpublished manuscripts and typewritten texts by the historian Jaume Vicens i Vives (1910-1960) from the Instituto Gallach de Librería y Ediciones archive, correspondence addressed to Josep Fontana and photocopies of the records from Vicens i Vives’s purging under Franco.
Oriental studies collection
Bibliographic collection | Language and literature | History and geography
Multidisciplinary collection of works on the region spanning from Pakistan to Japan. The works on China, the works on Tibet (donated by the Aynó-Sabater family), and the Nicolai R. Welsh donation are of particular note.
Palau-Ribes papyrological collection
Bibliographic collection | Philosophy and religion
A collection of almost 3,000 papyri from Egypt, dated from between the 10th century BC and the 10th century AD, although the bulk of the collection dates from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. It contains mainly Christian texts such as biblical texts, homilies, Christological controversies, and some excerpts from Greek literature. Most are written in Greek or Coptic, although some are in Arabic, Demotic, Hieratic or Hebrew, among others.
The collection was assembled by the papyrologist and theologian Josep O’Callaghan thanks to the patronage of his brother-in-law, Josep Palau-Ribes.
Peninsular War (1808-1814) collection
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Documents from the Joan Crexell collection, Josep Fontana i Lázaro donation and Nadal-Caparà Family donation
Digitized collection consisting of 700 pamphlets, most of which are legal, administrative, political or propagandistic writings from the Peninsular War or Guerra de la Independencia.
Also accessible through the portal Crònica: fullets històrics en el mapa, which allows users to search for historical pamphlets by year and place of authorship/publication using an interactive map.
Pompeu Fabra collection
Bibliographic collection | Language and literature
Industrial engineer and linguist (1868-1948)
Comprehensive collection of works by and about Pompeu Fabra compiled by the library. It includes, amongst others: biographies, comics, interviews, letters, exhibitions, picture books, poetry and collections of writings. The collection is constantly being expanded with the latest works.
Torelló Family collection
Corporate collection | History and geography
From the Torelló family of Igualada
Collection from the Combelles family of Sanaüja and the Torelló family of Igualada. This extensive collection reflects the personalities and activities of the various members of the families that generated or accumulated it. The oldest works – copies of notarial deeds – date from the 17th century. From the mid-18th century onwards, the documents become more diversified, and over the period spanning from 1800 to 1930, the collection grew to a considerable size. Good examples include an 18th-century accounting ledger kept by parishioners and accounting documents related to the management of farms.
War of Spanish Succession (1680-1750) collection
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Documents from the Joan Crexell collection and Josep Fontana i Lázaro donation
Digitized collection consisting of 421 documents published or written between the years 1680 and 1750, most of which are legal, administrative, political or propagandistic writings documenting the period of the War of Spanish Succession and the subsequent repression.
Also accessible through the portal Crònica: fullets històrics en el mapa, which allows users to search for historical pamphlets by year and place of authorship/publication using an interactive map.
World War I propaganda collection
Bibliographic collection | History and geography
Digitised collection of propaganda brochures, booklets and leaflets from World War I (1914-1918), published in several languages by the belligerent powers, with the aim of influencing Spanish public opinion. Most of the documents have to do with the explanations given about the origins of the conflict, its culprits and justifications. There is also a relevant number of brochures about the German invasion of Belgium, the moral position of Catholicism regarding the conflict or the neutrality of Spain.
Xavier Rubert de Ventós personal archive
Personal collection | Philosophy and religion
Donation by Xavier Rubert de Ventós (1939-2023)
Philosopher and politician
The Xavier Rubert de Ventós Archive is a collection of documents from his career as a philosopher, teacher, politician and essayist, and from his personal activities. Highlights include a wealth of personal and professional correspondence, notebooks and diaries, teaching and research material, articles of his own and by other authors, documents generated in the European Parliament and, finally, documentation related to the College of Philosophy and the Barcelona-New York Chair, both created by him.
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