El Directorio de Deschamps

My latest post for Edwardian Promenade is the first part in a (short!) series of posts on ways Dominicans amused themselves in the Edwardian era.

One of the resources I used for writing it was Enrique Deschamp’s La Republica Dominicana. Directorio y Guia General.

Published in 1907, it’s a compendium of information about…well, everything Dominican. Deschamps’ Directorio includes detailed a detailed history of the island from Taino times, texts describing the Dominican constitution, its exports and main industries, social customs and its towns.

Photographs of prominent Dominican men and women abound in its pages, some of whom you may recognize from my tweets.

In his Directorio, Deschamps collects poems, essays and stories, as well as sheet music. The Directorio also serves as a guide for businesses all around the island. If you needed to find anything or anyone in 1907, this was where you first looked.

And if you’re a historian or historical novelist interested in the Dominican Republic in the Edwardian era, Enrique’s totally got your back.

I do have to add that Enrique was a member of a wealthy elite of Santiago de los Caballeros and it shows in the way (sometimes disparaging, sometimes condescending) he writes about the popular classes.