Heritage

of the Publishers and the Published of Catalonia

Barcelona, 1958-1975

Argos


(Updated 10/08/2022)

The Barcelona bookshop Argos was founded in the early 1940s on Passeig de Gràcia. In 1958 it was purchased by the writer and publisher Ignasi Agustí with the financial assistance of the Catalan businessman Jaume Castell after Agustí sold his shares in the Destino publishing house. Even though the publisher-bookshop already had five collections with considerable commercial appeal, including Carabela, Calesa, Los Artistas Contemporáneos, La Vida y las Vidas and Miguel Ángel, it was not until Agustí’s arrival that it came to have a solid range of collections. Thus, Agustí took over the publishing house and maintained the shop as he worked as a literary editor, publishing works such as Robert Jungk’s Más brillante que mil soles (Brighter than a Thousand Suns), Eugenio Nadal’s Ciudades en España and his own Mariona Rebull.

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The Biblioteca de Catalunya holds his personal papers, which contain personal handwritten and typewritten documents, photographs, awards, sound and audiovisual recordings and printed books.

Ignasi Agustí collection at the Biblioteca de Catalunya

Catalogue of publishers and booksellers from the Bergnes de las Casas collection (Biblioteca de Catalunya)

Catalogue of publishers of Catalonia from 1940 to 1975 (Biblioteca de Catalunya)

More information and documentation on the works produced


Doria, Sergi. Ignacio Agustí, el árbol y la ceniza. Barcelona: Destino, 2013.

Llanas, Manuel. L'Edició a Catalunya. Segle XX  (1939-1975). Barcelona: Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya, 2006.

Moret, Xavier. Tiempo de editores: historia de la edición en España. 1939-1975. Barcelona: Destino, 2002.

Vila-Sanjuán, Sergio. Pasando pàgina : autores y editores en la España democràtica. Barcelona: Destino, 2003.