The National Library of the Philippines is not just a repository of books, it also preserves artifacts like Manuel L. Quezon’s e...

The National Library of the Philippines is not just a repository of books, it also preserves artifacts like Manuel L. Quezon’s elegant narra desk and chair. Possibly handcrafted in Bilibid and ornamented with bone-inlay. In the 1980’s, long before it was given museum status, it was just old furniture used in the Filipiniana Division. Once or twice in 1988 when I would spend Saturday mornings helping the public with Filipiniana references for their research I used this desk not knowing I had lite...