October 21, 2020

Barcelona ~ Camiseria Pons: Avui fa deu anys

 ~      


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)
& Isabel Estrany photo by Styrous® 
 
 
 

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 photo by Styrous®



men's shirts & neckties
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 . . .


tea  & pears
photo by Styrous®


. . . 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


 
the garden 
photographers 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 
Dayton, Ohio U.S.A
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, 
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.) 




Viewfinder links:           
          
Isabel Estrany         
Père Amilibia Estrany          
Styrous®        
Tom White        
        
Net links (in Catalan):           
          
L'independant de Gràcia ~ L’antiga camiseria Pons serà un forn de pa   
         
          
         
         
        
photographer unknown
        
        
 
Isabel i Camiseria Pons viuran 
dins de la meva ànima per sempre!
 
         
          
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, October 21, 2020       
      
















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