Next Wednesday, January 21, at 6:00 p.m., the exhibition A Life Among Books: Valencian Printing Through Serrano Morales will open at the Palau de Cervelló.
Curated by Enrique Fink, the exhibition offers a journey through the main milestones of Valencian printing, presented through its most outstanding protagonists and a carefully selected group of works from the Serrano Morales Library, formed from the donation made by the distinguished bibliophile.
Among the items on display, visitors will be able to see in operation a replica of Gutenberg’s printing press, owned by the Senate of the Printing Museum and currently on deposit at the MuVIM, as well as a Minerva press and a type cabinet belonging to the Printing Museum. These will allow visitors to gain a direct understanding of traditional printing processes.
José Enrique Serrano Morales, born in Algeciras in 1851 and Valencian by adoption, was the author of the extensive Dictionary of Valencian Printers, which from its first edition became an essential reference work for the study of the history of printing in Valencia. With a long and widely recognized intellectual career, he stood out as a scholar and bibliophile, assembling an extensive library that he donated to the Valencia City Council in 1908, becoming the founding collection of the library that bears his name.
The exhibition is complemented by a lecture series, according to the schedule listed below, and by two cultural routes: one focused on Cervantes’s Valencia and another on 19th- and 20th-century printing houses. These will be led respectively by Begoña Valero on April 16 and by Enrique Fink on March 5. The tours will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and will begin at the Palau de Cervelló. Registration for these activities is required by calling +34 963 525 478.
The exhibition may be visited at the Palau de Cervelló from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (last admission at 6:45 p.m.), and on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (last admission at 1:45 p.m.).
Printing workshops
On Saturdays January 24 and 31; February 7, 14, 21, and 28; and March 7 and 21, printing workshops will be held using the replica of Gutenberg’s press.
On Wednesdays January 28; February 4, 11, 18, and 25; March 4, 11, and 25; and April 1, 8, and 15, typographic composition and printing will be carried out using a Minerva press.
Attendance at the workshops is free of charge, subject to capacity.
Lecture program
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January 21, 7:00 p.m. Fermín de los Reyes Gómez, “15th-Century Valencian Printing in Serrano Morales.”
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February 12, 7:00 p.m. Rosa Gregori Roig, “16th- and 17th-Century Valencian Printing in Serrano Morales.”
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February 25, 7:00 p.m. Nicolás Bas Martín, “18th-Century Valencian Printing in Serrano Morales.”
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March 4, 7:00 p.m. Enrique Fink Hurtado, “19th-Century Valencian Printing in Serrano Morales.”
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March 11, 7:00 p.m. Arantxa Guerola Inza, “Women in Valencian Printing in Serrano Morales.”
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April 15, 7:00 p.m. Begoña Valero Blázquez, “The Printing of Cervantes and Timoneda.”
The lectures will take place in the covered courtyard of the Palau de Cervelló. Attendance is free of charge until full capacity is reached.