Josep M. Millàs Collection

Josep M. Millàs i Vallicrosa (Santa Coloma de Farners, 1897 – Barcelona, 1970) was a leading scholar in the study of the history of science in Muslim Spain and medieval Hebrew poetry. He also founded a school of Arabists and historians of science that has continued to explore the science of Al-Andalus with exemplary rigor.

In 2000, the personal library of Josep M. Millàs i Vallicrosa was incorporated into the collections of monographs and journals in the History of Science section at the Science and Technology Library. It is also held, to a lesser extent, in the collections of the Medicine and Humanities libraries. This collection is now known as the Millàs Collection.

Collection description: The Millàs Collection includes 1,894 monographs on Arabic science, scientific instruments, medieval Hebrew poetry, the history of astronomy and mathematics, and the historiography of science. It also features several series of periodicals, most notably 40 volumes of Isis and Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, which complement the series of the Autònoma. Additionally, the collection contains an almost complete set of the works of Josep M. Millàs. Beyond its immense symbolic value, the collection includes 70 pieces of original correspondence, 49 works, and 415 miscellaneous documents. These materials significantly expand the possibilities for research in history, philology, and the history of science in the Autonomous Region.

The collection also holds the archive of Eduard Millàs i Vendrell (Barcelona, 1937–1999), the son of Millàs i Vallicrosa and historian Francisca Vendrell i Gallostra. Eduard’s archive consists of seven boxes containing more than seventy ring binders. These primarily contain notes and handwritten records on key texts in the history of ancient and medieval Arabic astronomy, the preparation of published works, and, above all, university teaching on these subjects.

Collection date range: 1746-1998

Collection incorporation date: 2000

Depositary library: Science and Technology Library

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