Recovering publishing heritage: the case of Montaner y Simón

On Tuesday, the Design Museum hosted the conference Recovering publishing heritage: the case of Montaner y Simón as part of the conference cycle History and Art In Barcelona’s Museums. The event was attended by Pilar Vélez, the director of the Design Museum, and Albert Díaz Mota, Head of the Documentation Centre at the Design Museum. But, what is the story behind the building currently occupied by the Fundació Tàpies?

Montaner y Simón was one of the most important publishing houses in Spain between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After more than a century of history, closed its doors for the last time in 1981, dispersing with it a large quantity of its materials and documents. The Fundació Tàpies, which currently occupies the building where the publishing house used to be based, it currently carrying out an investigation to recover its legacy.

During the conference, appreciation was shown for the effort being made by Barcelona’s museums to recover dispersed materials and records, which often mix different sources that need to be transformed into a collective memory. Not only is it an important task to collect these materials but added to this is the effort needed to faithfully reflect the past when the majority of them may arrive out of context or in an altered state.

If you’re interested in continuing to attend the conference cycle, don’t miss the next sessions which will be held at the Monestir de Pedralbes, the Barcelona Museum of History, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the Museum of Music and the Frederic Marès Museum. Hope to see you there!