The bookstore at the Biblioteque Nationale d’Espagne yielded up treasures: a facsimile of the first translation of Book 1 into English, published in London in 1687; a book of facsimiles of early maps, indicating Don Quixote’s travels; and an alphabet book for children with period illustrations and quotes from the novel. We purchased all three and will use them for reference as we plan our project. The friendly bookstore clerk also told us of a couple of other bookstores with small cafes in the city that we might wish to visit. Friends of his were the proprietors, and so he wrote the names and addresses on a piece of paper for us, and a note good for three free beers. Later in the morning we stopped by one of those stores and found out that he had called his friends in advance, so they were expecting us and made good on the promise of those beers – delicious and local!
We spent most of the afternoon in the Prado, viewing the extensive collection of Spanish art, including that of the Cervantes period, the early 17th century. However, we also visited the Flemish wing and the works of Bosch and Bruegel, especially Bosch’s Garden of Delights with its amazingly realistic depictions of wind instruments in the panel on hell. There were other paintings with renditions of recorders, lutes and harps. Joan took a few surreptitious photos of those details, until a museum-goer admonished her for “spoiling the experience for others”! One of our fondest wishes would be to make a survey of, and photograph, all the musical instruments depicted in 15th and 16th artwork. There are so many tucked in the corners of paintings, or off in the distance, attracting little notice until one looks quite closely.
Joan and Bob returned to the music store in the early evening, and left with a Spanish gaita. We hope it will make an appearance in the Don Quixote program next fall!