1st edition Noli emerges: First Philippine corruption exposé

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the shocking revelations of billion-peso graft in ghost and substandard flood control projects, a rare first edition of the Noli me Tangere has come to light.

Jose Rizal, after all, was the country’s first whistle-blower and the Noli, the first Filipino exposé of public corruption. This important volume will be auctioned off at the Leon Gallery Magnificent September Auction on Sept. 13, 2025 in its Makati sale rooms.

The Noli is the most important book in the Philippines, inspiring Andres Bonifacio and an entire generation and that would spark a revolution. Rizal would ultimately pay for his disclosures with his life.

First editions of the Philippines’ first political novel are few and far between. Since the start of its appearance in 1887, it was outlawed by the Spanish colonial regime and possession of the book (much less reading it) would lead to condemnation and arrest.

Printed in Berlin, this first edition is made even more unique because of a dedication to Rizal’s fellow ilustrado, Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera. Rizal wrote in his own hand on its first page the following, “Al Distinguido Filipinista D. TH Pardo de Tavera, Su Amigo y Paisano, J Rizal.” (Translated, this reads, “To the distinguished Filipinist Don TH Pardo de Tavera, Your Friend and Fellow Countryman, J Rizal.”)

Pardo de Tavera was a renowned scholar and linguist whose only sister Paz would become the bride of the celebrated painter Juan Luna.

Another interesting piece of Rizaliana is also a highlight of the auction: Rizal’s own architectural drawing or front elevation of the façade of his dream academy, a school he intended to build in Hong Kong in early 1892 just before he would be arrested and exiled to Dapitan.