The Book Museum Cum Ethnology Center Opens the Museum Annex and in house café, James Dean Café
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Marikina City, March 2018. The Book Museum Cum Ethnology Center is the first in Asia to feature a plethora of books and all sorts of reading and print materials from one of the most-travelled man is Asia, Atty. Dominador Buhain, the President of Rex Group of Companies (a printing company inherited from his parents). He has travelled in over 230 (as of January 2018) countries and islands in his lifetime, throughout his travels he brought with him a vast collection of books, artifacts, art collections and other personal collectibles.
The Book Museum, being a book museum, presents an array of different kinds of books and other printed materials from all over the world. Rare items such as:
- The smallest book in the world produced by a letterpress with dimension: 3.3 x 3.3 mm. It contains “The Lord’s Prayer” in 7 different languages namely American English, British Engliosh, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and Swedish. This book came from the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany, acquired in October 2012.
- 1st original copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Book 4 (Rowling, J.K. 2000. Bloomsbury. United Kingdom)
- The Little Prince Collector’s Library (De Saint-Exupery, Antoine. 1943.)
- The smallest tablet from China
- Le Petit Paroissien De L’Enfrance (Didot Fermin. 1820) Dimension: 29 x 23 mm. A prayer book with illustrated engraved plates.
- The longest book is spread out across a 20 meter or 60 foot scroll. The book contains artwork about the life of Confucius, was obtained in Qufu, Shangdong China August 2017.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Life Among the Lowly (Beecher Stowe, Harriet. 1852.) - Classic books such as Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov), Wilhelm Tell (Freidrich Schiller), Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe), The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Robinhood and the Men of the Greenwood (Walter Crane), The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote La Mancha (Miguel de Dervantes).
- Advocacy books on Philippine printing and publishing.
- Old Filipino comics during the Spanish Era.
- Jose Rizal’s La Solidaridad and Ang Filibusterismo.
- The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selections or Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin. (Murray, John. 1989. Albermarle Street, London)
- Influential Chinese philosophers
- Vladimir Lenin selected works
- Crafted old book from Germany and Hungary
- A History of Publishing in the Philippines (Buhain, Dominador. 1998. Rex Bookstore)
- Miniature collection of Shakespeare’s works
- Francisco (Balagtas) Baltazar Talambuhay ng Sisne ng Panginay (Dizon, A.I. 1958. 1st Edition. Liwayway Publications).
- Dracula (Bram Stoker) and The Romanians (The Government of Romania)
- The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway, Ernest. 1951.) Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1953 and Nobel Prize in Literature 1954.
- A Night to Remember (Lord, Walter. 1955.) Non-fiction book about the sinking of RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912.
- North Korean book
- Books on German Nazis – Weimar and Nazi Germany (Hinton, Chris), Endtime Warriors Ideology and Terror of the SS (Kunstverlag, Deutscher), The Beasts of Buchenwald (Whitlock, Flint)
- Doctrina Christiana Explicado (Christian Doctrine Explained) published in 1894. The Doctrina Christiana was an early book of Roman catholicCatechism written in 1593 by Fray Juan de Plasencia, and is believed to be one of the earliest books printed in the Philippines.
- Latin Commentaries Collectively of the New Testament (Herborn, 1595-1609) and the Old Testament (1612-1618). One of the oldest copy of Johannes Piscator’s works. Johannes (27 march 1546 – 26 July 1625) was a German Reformed theologian, known as a Bible translator and textbook writer. Obtained in Germany.
Book enthusiasts and alike will surely immerse themselves in these hard-to-find objects.
He built the Ethnology Center to showcase his love for his country and his passion with Philippine artifacts. The center houses a collection from the Northern and Southern part of the Philippines. The Northern site highlights well-preserved and priceless artifacts from the Cordillera Region, this includes the hunting equipment, weapons, cooking utensils, native clothing, ornaments, and a quick look to the Ifugao’s way of life. The adjacent building is dedicated to the Southern part of the Philippines. It showcases artifacts from the Southern Tagalog Region all the way to the different islands of Mindanao.
Another notable site to see is the mural by visual artist Leo Aguinaldo which depicts the history of printing in the Philippines and in the world. Festive colored themed Totem Poles adorn the facade; these totem poles illustrate a selected Philippine myths and legends.
From books to artifacts, The Book Museum Cum Ethnology Center exhibits a combination of local and international collectibles which highlights the culture of a city or a country. This March the Ethnology Center launches the opening of the museum’s extension “The Museum Annex”, we were one of the first batches to have an exclusive experience to see the Museum Annex and dine in their partner café, James Dean Café, a 50’s themed restaurant which serves good ol’ American style favorites.

The Museum Annex displays a collection of prehistoric stones from Gigantes Island (Iloilo)s, local and international hat collections, 50 year old tail of stingray (buntot page), an inherited veneration of owls, replica of terra-cotta sculpture by Dr. Jose Rizal, antique stoneware, exotic necklaces accumulated for the past 50 years, a collection of angels and cherubic images, sling shots of the world accumulated for the past 50 years. This site is widely dedicated to Atty. Buhain’s accumulated headgears or hat collection during his travels mainly for the purpose of utilitarian or leisurely visits, for decorations, or for preservation especially the ones with historical value.
Other collections
James Dean
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell
Atty. Dominador Buhain most recent acquisition is the Museum of Cordillera Cultural Heritage in Banaue, Ifugao.
The Book Museum Cum Ethnology Center door rate is PHP300, which serves as an access to the Book Museum, 3 Ethnology Centers – Northern, Southern, and Museum Annex. A PHP100 food voucher to James Dean Café is included to capped your entire visit.
For group reservations, contact (+632) 570-4449
www.facebook.com/BookMuseum
The Book Museum Cum Ethnology Center
James Dean Café
201 Dao Street
Marikina Height, Marikina City
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