Josep Janés, a self-taught publisher and poet, was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat in 1913. He founded the magazine Bandera in 1930 and was later the editor-in-chief for El Diari Mercantil between 1932 and 1933 and Avui-Diari de Catalunya in 1933. One year later, he created the popular literary collection Quaderns Literaris, and during the war years he founded La Rosa dels Vents. In 1938, he published the biweekly Avui for the Culture at the Front Services. He was imprisoned in 1939 and was released thanks to the endorsement of the Falangist writers whom he had publicly defended during war time. Two years later he founded the Josep Janés, Editor publishing house.
+ informationJosep Janés collection at 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 from 1940 to 1975 (Biblioteca de Catalunya)
More information and documentation on the works produced
Hurtley, Jacqueline. Josep Janés. El combat per la cultura. Barcelona: Curial, 1986, (Biblioteca de Cultura Catalana; 60)
José Janés: editor de literatura inglesa. Barcelona: PPU, 1992.
Llanas, Manuel. L'Edició a Catalunya. Segle XX (1939-1975). Barcelona: Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya, 2006.
Mengual Català, Josep. A dos tintas. Josep Janés, poeta y editor. Barcelona: Debate, 2013.
Rius i Vila, Joan. El meu Josep Janés i Olivé. L'Hospitalet de Llobregat: l'Ajuntament, 1976.
Samsó Llenas, Joan. La Cultura catalana entre la clandestinitat i la represa pública. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1995. Vol. 2 (Biblioteca Abat Oliba; 147)
Josep Janés, a self-taught publisher and poet, was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat in 1913. He founded the magazine Bandera in 1930 and was later the editor-in-chief for El Diari Mercantil between 1932 and 1933 and Avui-Diari de Catalunya in 1933. One year later, he created the popular literary collection Quaderns Literaris, and during the war years he founded La Rosa dels Vents. In 1938, he published the biweekly Avui for the Culture at the Front Services. He was imprisoned in 1939 and was released thanks to the endorsement of the Falangist writers whom he had publicly defended during war time. Two years later he founded the Josep Janés, Editor publishing house.
The newspapers, magazines and literary collections that he created were a prelude to the work he would do as a publisher:
Title page of the newspaper Avui-Diari de Catalunya, 14th of October 1933.
Advertising brochure for Quaderns Literaris.
In 1941, he founded the company José Janés, Editor, a publishing house that became one of the most powerful in the post-war era. One year earlier he had founded another publishing house, Editorial Emporion, with Félix Ros, and he had revived Quaderns Literaris, but both ventures only lasted a little over a year. Josep Janés, Editor primarily published in Spanish and helped writers who had suffered from retaliation from the Franco regime and were facing economic hardships. It published around 1,600 titles distributed in around 50 collections, which primarily featured English-language fiction and renowned authors like Mann, Proust and Maurois. Janés created the publishing house with the goal of founding a solid, creative project with the intention of becoming a missionary publisher and merchant. Trade, culture, Catholicism and Catalanism were the four cornerstones of his publishing policy, and fiction made up the bulk of its publications.
As a poet, he wrote the compilations Tu (1934), Combat del somni (1937) and Dotze puntes seques (1958), which show a clear influence from Carles Riba.
In 1959, he died in a traffic accident in the town of Els Monjos and the Josep Janés, Editor imprint was acquired by Germán Plaza, who purchased the collection and founded the company named Plaza & Janés.
The most famous names published by this imprint were English-language fiction authors, including G. K. Chesterton, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Edgar Allan Poe. However, the Josep Janés, Editor catalogue also includes names from the other literary traditions, including Alessandro Manzoni, Marcel Proust and Paul Valéry.
The illustrators that worked with Josep Janés were students at the Fine Arts School of Barcelona, La Llotja. Joan Palet, Enric Cluselles, Francesc Domingo, Evarist Móra, Will Faber and Joan Commeleran illustrated books issued by Josep Janés, both regular and bibliophile editions. Likewise, Enric Cluselles designed the logos of the Al Monigote de Papel and Hostería del Buen Humor collections.
Engraving by Francesc Domingo in the work by Juan Arbó, Sebastià. Tino Costa. Barcelona: Josep Janés, 1947.
The output of this publishing house was grouped into around 50 collections, prominent among them the ones devoted to the complete works of world-famous authors, Nobel prize winners, contemporary fiction and many others.
This publishing house primarily issued fiction translated into Spanish, and literature from around the world, especially the United Kingdom. Thomas Mann, P. G. Wodehouse and Maurice Baring are just some of the famous authors published by Janés.
Mann, Thomas. La montaña mágica. Barcelona: José Janés, 1958, dust jacket design by Will Faber.
Wodehouse, P. G. El Advenimiento de Bill. Barcelona: José Janés, 1952 (Al Monigote de Papel; 19), cover illustration probably by Enric Cluselles.
Baring, Maurice. La túnica sin costura. Barcelona: José Janés Edit., [1956] (Club de los lectores ; 41), dust cover design by Enric Cluselles.