Alicante Town Venue hosts an evening dedicated to Abelardo de Carlos
A reception in Alicante will introduce the book Abelardo de Carlos. Illustrated Editor, a study that surveys the life and influence of the remarkable 19th century publisher. The event takes place next Monday, 29 May, at 20:00 in the Ramón y Cajal Headquarters, at 4. Journalists and writers will be present as moderators, including Juan Cruz, who contributed the book’s afterword, and Manuel Desantes, a professor of private international law at the University of Alicante.
This new edition brings renewed attention to the figure of Abelardo Morenothis, celebrating the editor as a central figure in publishing. The volume highlights the scope of his work and his role in shaping cultural discourse in Spain, South America, and Europe during the 19th century through Enlightenment ideas and crosscontinental exchange.
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Abelardo de Carlos y Almansa transformed Spanish journalism. Born in Cádiz in 1822 without a father, he built his career from the ground up as a self made entrepreneur. He began as a clerk in a bookstore, started his own shop, and rose to manage a printing house linked to a medical journal. He acquired a local Cádiz newspaper and turned it into a leading publication. He elevated a women’s magazine of refined style into a reference point for fashion and culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, guiding readers with a blend of elegance and information.
Behind a pivotal year, 1868, Abelardo moved his life to Madrid after the revolution that ended Isabel II’s reign. He established a presence in the capital, pushing the boundaries of journalism. He helped revive both Spanish and American Enlightenment ideals in print, steering a magazine that became a hallmark of refined discourse during the Restoration era. His magazine combined high quality text with illustrations, producing works that attracted readers across borders.
He fostered a forward looking approach to information and opinion journalism, collaborating with capable reporters and writers. His editorial strategy aimed to educate readers and to provide encyclopedic coverage that embraced literature, science, and the arts. The enterprise expanded into a vertically integrated operation that included a paper mill and printing facilities. The network extended to Madrid and Paris, supporting Spain’s cultural and economic development while contributing to new urban growth. He passed away in 1884, leaving a lasting imprint on the publishing landscape.
Preserving the memory of Abelardo de Carlos is more than chronicling a successful businessman. It is about the publications he championed and the visual and textual archive they created. The book presents a curated selection of pages that captures the era’s events with beauty and historical clarity, offering modern readers a vivid window into the Restoration period and its cultural achievements.