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La Camiseria Pons vista per Pere Amilibia
photo by Styrous®
I can't believe it was only ten years ago today, October 21, 2010, that Tom & I enjoyed an enchanted afternoon with Isabel Estrany, the mother
of our friend Père Amilibia Estrany; it seems like a million years ago.
Isabel owned an exclusive clothing store in a building designed by Spanish architect, Enric Sagnier. Her shop was called Camiseria Pons and it was at Carrer Gran de Gràcia, 49 just above the Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona.
Camiseria Pons exterior images
(photographers unknown)
Isabel and her assistant Mele welcomed us to the shop then took us on a tour of it and we got a chance to see the beautiful clothing for sale. Isabel is amazing! She speaks English, French, German, Spanish, and, of course, Catalan.
Maria Salarich Ybern (Mele)
photographer unknown
photographer unknown
Originally it was a men's clothing shop but carried women's clothing as well. The inventory included men's wear, jackets, shirts and neckties; a bow tie from the 1920s, a Republican Army jacket, brand and
made-to-order shirts with names like French designer Catherine André and Munich-based Elemente Clemente to dress men and women.
photographer unknown
men's shirts
photographer unknown
photographer unknown
scarves
photographer unknown
photographer unknown
After the tour of the shop, Isabel took us into the private back quarters and we enjoyed a repast of tea and pears . . .
. . . and saw works by her son and our friend, Pere Amilibia.
wall sculpture by Pere Amilibiaphoto by Styrous®
While we enjoyed our break in the private room we could look out into a beautiful garden through the window.
view of garden photo by Styrous®
the garden
photographer unknown
Five years ago, on January 23, in 2015, a horrifying announcement was posted:
A finals de febrer i després de 108 anys... tanquem !!!
(At the end of February and after 108 years... we close!!!)
Camiseria Pons closing notice
photographer unknown
But the years count and it's recorded Isabel said, "In a short time, in
February, we will say goodbye forever to the most commercial street in
Gràcia." I was heartbroken to see another wonderful Barcelona landmark disappear (Vinçon link below)!
A brief history of Camiseria Pons
The establishment in Gràcia was opened by Isabel’s grandfather, Fabià Pons, in 1907, seven years after he opened one on Carrer de la Portaferrissa in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. He operated the business until his death in 1974, after which his mother and others took care of it. When it was burglarized in 1987 and the thieves emptied it completely, it was she who took it over and restored it. However, she kept the store true to its origins and practically nothing had been touched from the beginning, neither the entrance sign, nor the shop window, nor once inside, the wooden counter which was presided over by a massive and beautiful brass cash register from 1917; it was only for show as it no longer worked.
National cash register - 1917
photographer unknown
The shop also had a modernist mahogany display case, a gift from a French supplier and a courtyard that few people knew about.
It was a men's shirt shop but it sold women's clothing as well, which was, in fact, the most popular clothing sold. Isabel said, "And lately, I've been making custom pieces in the workshop." She recalled, "Shirts for the Republican Army were made during the war." She says, "It's neither better nor worse but different."
Volta ciclista... Fabià Pons l´any 1908
(Cycling tour ... Fabià Pons in 1908)
Camiseria Pons, any 1908. Fabià Pons i la seva filla,
disfressada d´esperantista, a la rua de Carnestoltes.
(Camiseria Pons, 1908. Fabià Pons and his daughter,
(Camiseria Pons, 1908. Fabià Pons and his daughter,
disguised as an Esperantist, in the Carnival parade.)
L'any 1910, Camiseria Pons a la rua de carnestoltes.
(In 1910, Camiseria Pons in the carnival parade.)
(In 1910, Camiseria Pons in the carnival parade.)
Viewfinder links:
photographer unknown
Net links (in Catalan):
L'independant de Gràcia ~ L’antiga camiseria Pons serà un forn de pa
Politica y Moda ~ Adéu a la Camiseria Pons i als polítics com el president Tarradellas
Isabel i Camiseria Pons viuran
dins de la meva ànima per sempre!
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