Unterhaltung

Inés Padrosa from Emporda brings the role of women in Girona’s graphic art out of oblivion

It is known that printing was a thriving business in Barcelona in the 18th century and although the profession of printer was historically a man’s job, some women, especially from the 18th century onwards, carved out a place for themselves in the graphic arts industry as printers, engravers or booksellers. Also in Girona countries. Here, the librarian and archivist Inés Padrosa approached the subject based on the bibliographic collections kept in the library and archives of the Palau de Peralada and brought these women out of obscurity by providing their first and last names. The study with the title Girona printers in the library of the Palau de Peralada (18th-20th centuries)has just been published in volume 64 of annals from the Institute of Girona Studies.

Inés Padrosa explains that over the years she has removed from the Peralada collection a thousand works printed in Girona, the capital or in the province, of which about fifty bear a female stamp, mostly widows with the exception of Dolors Torres Estrada. Inés Padrosa, taking into account Enric Mirambell’s doctoral thesis on the women printers of Girona, was able to expand the name of the women printers, starting from the three confirmed by the expert – the widow and the son of Figaró; Maria Nicolau, widow of Bro, and the widow of Grases – and a few others. She also reveals some information. On this list is Maria Nicolau Arrosser, the widow of Josep Bro, who will manage her late husband’s business together with her brother for two years, from 1794 to 1796, until she remarries. He is followed by Maria Oliva Gispert from Sant Hilari Sacalm, widow of the printer Agustí Figaró, whose other works are kept in Peralada. Religious, educational and geographical works come from the workshop of Narcisa Pagès Miralles, widow of the printer Joaquim Grases. Gerardo Cumané’s widow ran the company from 1872 to 1874, while Dolors Torres Estrada, Pacià Torres’ sister, managed the printing and bookstore. Finally, Teresa Gussinyer Juncà, widow of Josep Franquet Serra, took over the company together with her son. It is worth noting that Padrosa recognizes that no work has yet been found in Peralada by Josepa Puignau, heir to the workshop of Fermí Nicolau, nor by the widow of Manuel Llach, active from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th

Lesen Sie auch Simone Biles‘ Ehemann Jonathan Owens äußert sich zur Beziehungskritik

The librarian points out how the works printed by these women “found their way through many places in Spanish geography.” Copies can be found in various centers, institutions and libraries. In addition, it should be noted that there are books that can only be found in Peralada, although “one must remember that a copy can always appear in private ownership,” notes Padrosa, who describes how these works respond to themes of the time: Religion, novenas, education, pedagogy, community publications, philosophy, history, literature and first attempts with tourist guides.