Ramón Sopena Publishing — A theatrical performance, original for El mundo del saber, 1962 — ink on paper

Before becoming a small printed image inside a book, this illustration was a piece of editorial work. The registration marks, size indications, page number, and stamps preserved on the reverse allow us to reconstruct a little-known part of the process that took a drawing from the illustrator's table to the pages of an encyclopedia.

The scene depicts a male figure dressed in historical attire, with a cape and sword, in a declamatory pose next to a theatrical prop. The handwritten inscription at the top directly identifies its function: “Una representación teatral. Pág. 292”.

The work

The drawing is executed in black ink on paper using a clear and precise language, conceived specifically for printed reproduction. The character is built from defined outlines, small hatched areas, and solid blacks that had to perfectly maintain their legibility when significantly reduced for printing.

It is, therefore, not an autonomous work created for exhibition, but rather an original graphic for editorial production.

The details preserved around the drawing are especially interesting. The crosses located in the corners correspond to the composition and reproduction process, while the notation “45 mm” appears to indicate the approximate size to which the illustration was to be reduced on the final page.

Written at the top is:

“UNA REPRESENTACIÓN TEATRAL. PÁG. 292.”

The reverse also preserves two fundamental stamps:

“EL MUNDO DEL SABER” (The World of Knowledge)

and

“EDITORIAL RAMÓN SOPENA, S.A. – BARCELONA – ARCHIVO – 1968”

Next to them is a handwritten note dated “Sopena 11-9-62”, which allows us to date the preparation of the original to 1962. The 1968 archive stamp seems to link it later to the revised edition of El mundo del saber published that year.

From drawing to book

El mundo del saber. Ciencias y letras was an encyclopedic work by J. Vicenta Arnal and Inés García Escalera, published by Editorial Ramón Sopena as part of its Biblioteca Hispania series.

The 1968 edition had over seven hundred pages and an especially abundant graphic apparatus: it was advertised with 725 pen-and-ink illustrations, in addition to photographs and color plates.

This sheet constitutes precisely the type of material that preceded those reproductions. The illustrator worked at a larger size with a line clean enough for the image to be reduced later to a few centimeters without losing clarity.

The combined presence of layout annotations, intended page number, reproduction size, and the editorial archive stamp makes this piece a material witness to the operations of a major Barcelona publishing house during the sixties.

Editorial Ramón Sopena

Founded at the end of the 19th century, Editorial Ramón Sopena was for decades one of the most recognizable Spanish publishers in the field of dictionaries, encyclopedias, educational works, and textbooks.

Its production required a considerable volume of original graphic material: scientific drawings, historical reconstructions, didactic illustrations, and small scenes intended to accompany the texts. A good portion of these works was published without the reader ever knowing the name of the illustrator.

That explains why this sheet can be perfectly documented as an editorial piece while, at the same time, not bearing a signature that would allow us to identify its draftsman.

Technical details

Publisher: Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A., Barcelona
Title: A theatrical performance
Related publication: El mundo del saber. Ciencias y letras
Date of original: 1962
Archive date / related edition: 1968
Technique: Black ink on paper
Dimensions: 14.5 × 15 cm
Type of work: Original editorial illustration / reproduction art
Inscriptions: “Una representación teatral. Pág. 292” and “45 mm”
Reverse: Stamps “El Mundo del Saber” and “Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A. – Barcelona – Archivo – 1968”; handwritten annotation dated 11-9-62
Author of the drawing: Not identified
Provenance: Editorial archive of Ramón Sopena
Condition: Good general condition, preserving annotations, registration marks, and original stamps related to its editorial use.

Workshop Note

The registration crosses, the "45 mm" indication, the page number, and the Editorial Ramón Sopena stamp allow us to follow the preparation process of the illustration. These annotations show the work performed prior to its incorporation into the printed page.