Here in the Philippines, publications on antiques, collectibles and Filipino heritage are hard to come by. It's either the books are out of print or are way too expensive for the average Juan de la Cruz.
The bookstores are not helping either. They don't stock these books or if they do, the item is already soiled and grimy from extended manual handling. It's a big disappointment. Small local independent bookshops have a good number of Filipiniana titles but books on Pinoy collectibles are few and far between. And antique shops have books that are way too expensive and more geared for the rich and sosi afficionados. Which is why it pays to attend exhibits and look for titles among the museum shops' offerings.This way their stocks are well kept and they're priced reasonably (as against to Amazon's used book prices).
One of my greatest regret as a collector was that I only started "seriously" collecting and buying books on Pinoy antiques when they are already off the shelves and nowhere to be found. Now that I have the means to do so, I have been trying to rectify this deficiency and the only thing hampering me is the unavailability of the supply. So far I've already snapped up several books and hopefully others on my list will soon be ticked off.
My recent acquisitions were these:
While I was still in college studying in the Manila area, I usually go to Powerbooks or Fullybooked just to pass the time and browse through their Filipiniana section. I remember browsing this book and commenting there's no way anyone will spend P2500 for a book. Though I enjoyed looking at the plates and bowls, it didn't give me the same excitement until now when I bought the remaining copy from Solidaridad. It's one of the few seminal books on Swatow ware in the Philippines.
2. A Thousand Years of Stoneware Jars (Cynthia Valdez)
This book is for the ceramic specialist and the collector of Martaban jars. Martaban jars named after the Burmese port of the same name, are very popular as a collectible among middle to upper class Filipinos. These become home accent pieces and are fairly expensive compare to some Ming and Sung ceramics. They're quite rare and if you have several, then great. This book tells about the development, the usage and the trade of this kind of Southeast Asian ware. Ayala Museum and the Lopez Museum carry this title and at less than P1000, it's worth every penny.
3. Pang-Alay (Cynthia Valdez)
This book is one of the few volumes that delves on the Iron Age Pottery of the Philippines. These funerary pots and vessels are quite collectible, but not as collectible as the glazed ceramics. The book is research based and has a very extensive catalog. For Filipinos, this is a very useful book especially in identifying items in their collection. Ayala Museum carries them.
4. Three Hundred Years of Philippine Maps (PHIMCOS)
This P600 volume is printed in full color and has 94 pages replete with old Philippine maps. The maps inside reflect the vast collection of the exhibit. The catalogue itself is already a most-prized collectible because there are only two other books on Philippine maps as of today and both are exorbitantly priced. This is why this catalogue is useful in identifying ones collection for almost all the pages are jam-packed with representative maps. This is a keeper. You may want to contact phimcos.org for available copies because as far as I know unsold catalogues were returned to the organization. And none are being sold in major bookstores. Thus, if you were able to snatched one up, consider yourself lucky.
