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A new book, “Barcelona, city of factories”, attempts to recover the city’s industrial memory

The book by Mercè Tatjer will be presented in the Jaimes bookshop on the 26th of November in the company of the author, journalist Marc Andreu and publisher Elisenda Albertí

From the beginnings of the manufacturing industry, towards the latter part of the 18th century, to the closure of the majority of the city’s factories towards the end of the 20th century, Barcelona was home to a network of industrial areas that, for the most part, have disappeared.

A new book entitled Barcelona, ciutat de fàbriques. Gelats, joguines, perfums...els productes quotidians (Barcelona, city of factories. Ice-creams, toys, perfumes...everyday products), by Mercè Tatjer, professor emeritus and expert on the geography and urban history of Barcelona, and published by Albertí, is, above all, an attempt to contribute to the recovery of part of the city’s industrial memory.

From the transformation of the Barceloneta district to the Eixample production centres, which were interspersed among the district’s more affluent residencies, and from the working-class areas of the old town to the housing projects in the city’s various industrial districts, the book deals as much with the products that were manufactured as with the people who made the industrial network possible.

Over the course of the book, which includes a series of etchings, advertisements and photographs, the reader will become acquainted with the day-to-day life, ambitions and problems of the working class, engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs of each period as well as the wide range of items that were produced: chocolate, silk, umbrellas, ice, beer, etc.

The presentation of Barcelona, city of factories... will take place in the Jaimes bookshop on Wednesday the 26th of November at 7.30 pm. Entry is free and the author will be accompanied by journalist Marc Andreu and the publisher, Elisenda Albertí. For more information, please consult the bookshop’s website.

Publication date: Wednesday, 19 November 2014
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