JOSE TORIBIO

MEDINA (1852- )  , Chilean bibliographer, was born at Santiago, and was educated for the bar . His first publication, when a very young man, was a metrical translation of Longfellow's Evangeline . When twenty-two he was appointed secretary to the legation at Lima . After his return he published a history of Chilean literature (1878), and a work upon the aboriginal tribes (1884) . In this latter year he was appointed secretary of legation in Spain, and availed himself of the opportunity of examining the treasures of the old Spanish libraries . These researches, repeated on subsequent visits to Spain, and also to France and England, enriched him with a mass of historical and bibliographical material . Among his publications may be mentioned the Biblioteca hispano-americana, a catalogue of 'all books and pamphlets relating to Spanish America printed in Spain; the Biblioteca hispano-chilena, a similar work, commenced in 1897; the standard and magnificent history of printing in the La Plata countries (1892); comprehensive works on the Inquisition in Chile, Peru and the Philippines; and the standard treatise on South American medals (1899) . In addition, Senor Medina produced the fullest bibliographies yet attainable of books printed at Lima, Mexico and Manila, and a number of memoirs and other minor writings . No other man had rendered anything like the same amount of service to the literary history and bibliography of the Spanish colonies .