This collection unites handwritten documents in the Portuguese language that are bound together as books. The documents were produced in the Colonial and Imperial periods within modernday Paraíba, Brazil. The collection inludes land grants (sesmarias - 1704-1824); land records (1854-1865); administrative acts of the Portuguese Crown and of some Brazilian Imperial agencies, like the Secretary of State of Financial Affairs (Secretaria de Estado dos Negócios da Fazenda) and the Secretary of State of War Affairs and Supreme Military Council (Secretaria de Estado dos Negócios da Guerra e Conselho Supremo Militar) (1797-1856); acts of the Paraiba government (1823-1889); Grant letters (Cartas Patentes - 1776-1865); Municipal Government and Chief of Police (1837-1871); Public Instruction (1852-1888); City Hall and Provincial Legislature (1829-1853); Provincial Treasury (1837-1875); Revenue Administration (1841-1869); Magistrates (1877-1886).
Documentation produced by the Paraíba Government, between 1701 and 1889. The collection belonged to the Public State Archive (Arquivo Público do Estado), later called Paraíba Historical Archive (Arquivo Histórico da Paraíba), which held all documentation produced and collected by several sectors of the public administration. In present day, the archive is called Waldemar Bispo Duarte Historical Archive (Arquivo Histórico Waldemar Bispo Duarte). It is a cultural institution integrated to the José Lins do Rego Cultural Foundation of Paraíba (Fundação Espaço Cultural da Paraíba José Lins do Rego – FUNESC) through Decree Number 12.924 of January 3, 1898 (Decreto nº 12.924 de 03 de janeiro de 1989).
The collection contains manuscript and print books, many of which have non-original covers. Overall, the state of conservation is poor, with severe damages throughout the collection. Damages are caused by insects, iron gall ink, brittle paper, tears, and yellowing folios. Some books are molded and have been damaged by water.
