Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (APESP)

Overview

The Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (APESP), or Public Archive of the State of São Paulo, is one of Brazil's largest and most historically significant public archival institutions. Linked to the Secretariat of Management and Digital Government, APESP serves as the central body of the São Paulo State Archives System (SAESP), and is responsible for the custody, preservation, and provision of public access to documents of permanent value produced by the São Paulo state government.

History and Founding

The origins of the São Paulo state archives date to 1721, when Governor Dom Rodrigues César de Meneses instructed his government secretary to begin an inventory of government documents. These early materials, stored in the Pátio do Colégio, form the oldest nucleus of the institution's current holdings. The archive was formally constituted in 1892, during São Paulo's era of rapid industrialization and modernization. Today it is recognized as one of the oldest public offices in São Paulo state, with an unbroken archival history spanning the colonial era to the present.

Collections and Holdings

APESP holds an exceptionally rich and diverse collection: over 25 million textual documents, approximately 3 million iconographic and cartographic items, 45,000 volumes of books, more than 6,000 newspaper titles, and 2,000 periodical titles. From the colonial period, the archive houses around seven million loose manuscripts and a thousand handwritten books, ranging from inventories and wills to records of enslaved persons. The oldest item in the collection is the Shoemaker's Inventory, recording the assets of Damião Simões, dated 1578. The archive is also the designated custodian of the records of the Departamento de Ordem Política e Social (DOPS), São Paulo's former political police, making it a vital resource for research into Brazil's authoritarian period. Five documentary collections have been recognized by UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.

Relevance to Journalism and Media

APESP's newspaper and periodical collection—spanning more than 10,000 titles and 400,000 issues across its library and press archive constitutes one of the most significant repositories of Brazilian press history, covering publications from the early nineteenth century through the twentieth century. This makes it an essential resource for media historians, journalism researchers, and investigative journalists studying the history of the Brazilian press.

Access and Services

Research visits require prior appointment by email. The archive offers free in-person and digital access to its collections, reproduction services for textual and iconographic materials, guided tours, educational workshops, and exhibitions. A significant portion of its holdings are digitized and available online through APESP's digital platform.