Mentora, a publishing house with close ties to Juventud and the publisher Josep Zendrera, was founded in 1926. Its initial mission was to publish popular Catalan-language books and magazines for both adults and children. It published Catalan authors and translations, primary of English and French writers. Even though its publications were meant for a popular audience, they were quite painstakingly presented and translated.
+ informationEditorial Juventud collection in the Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (National Archive of Catalonia)
Catalogue of publishers and booksellers from the Bergnes de las Casas collection (Biblioteca de Catalunya)
Catalogue of publishers of Catalonia until 1939 (Biblioteca de Catalunya)
Mònica Baró. Les Edicions infantils i juvenils de l'Editorial Joventut (1923-1969). Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, 2006. (Tesi doctoral).
Llanas, Manuel. L'edició a Catalunya. Segle XX (fins a 1939). Barcelona: Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya, 2005.
Ugarte i Ballester, Xus. “Esbós de les traduccions d’editorial Mentora i Llegiu-me: la literatura de consum”. Quaderns: revista de traducció, 8 (2002), p. 41-49.
Mentora, a publishing house with close ties to Juventud and the publisher Josep Zendrera, was founded in 1926. Its initial mission was to publish popular Catalan-language books and magazines for both adults and children. It published Catalan authors and translations, primary of English and French writers. Even though its publications were meant for a popular audience, they were quite painstakingly presented and translated.
Mentora, a publishing house with close ties to Juventud and the publisher Josep Zendrera, was founded in 1926. Its initial mission was to publish popular Catalan-language books and magazines for both adults and children. It published Catalan authors and translations, primary of English and French writers. Even though its publications were meant for a popular audience, they were quite painstakingly presented and translated.
The publishing house had two collections, Biblioteca Damisel·la and Biblioteca Neus, for romance novels primarily for women. Interestingly, it also created the Biblioteca Europa collection whose subtitle, “novel·les per homes” (novels for men) made its target audience clear.
Mentora also devoted a large portion of its publishing output to books for children and adolescents. The emblematic Contes d’Ahir i d’Avui collection contained traditional tales in the versions by the popular Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, with adaptations by the folklorist Valeri Serra i Boldú. The imprint also assigned a collection exclusively to publishing the complete works of the poet and playwright Ignasi Iglésias. A few titles were issued in Spanish, including novels and books on politics and personal growth.
Mentora also published Llegiu-me: lectures mensuals il·lustrades, regarded as the first literature magazine in Catalan. Following its editorial line, it also included texts by Catalan authors and translations, primarily fiction with serial novels. The publication featured contributions by famous authors and illustrators.
In 1933, Mentora merged with Juventud for economic reasons, even though later some titles appeared with the Mentora printer’s mark.
Mentora published both Catalan authors and translations, primarily of works by French and English authors. Despite the popular nature of its publications, it alternated erudite authors with serial novels. One collection was dedicated exclusively to the works of Clovis Eimeric, while another one featured the complete works of Ignasi Iglésias.
Mentora’s output, targeted at children and young readers, featured contributions from renowned illustrators. Jesús Sánchez Tena illustrated many of the titles in the Contes d’Ahir i d’Avui collection.
Mentora devoted collections specifically to women, with the Biblioteca Damisel·la and Biblioteca Neus, but it also targeted male audiences with Biblioteca Europa, which was uniquely subtitled “novel·les per homes” (novels for men). Contes d’Ahir i d’Avui was meant for children, and one collection was dedicated exclusively to the complete works of Ignasi Iglésias.
Llegiu-me: lectures mensuals il·lustrades, published by Mentora, is regarded as the first literature magazine in Catalan. It included novels, stories, dialogues, fiction and poetry by Catalan and foreign authors. The first issue premiered with texts by authors like Àngel Guimerà, Víctor Català and Joan Puig i Ferrater, and with illustrations by Joan Junceda and J. Serra Massana. The translated texts only occasionally cited the name of the translator, such as in the cases of Josep Carner, Cèsar August Jordana and Carles Soldevila.