1. Congratulations

In the mid-19th century arises in the world of the pictorial a form of printed closely related to various social activities. In the field of relations of family and social life bourgeois is the use of a number of elements printed to recall the required dates: congratulations from all types come in the day of onomastics or anniversary, on the dates of Christmas or New year, the day dedicated to lovers and many other parties. The BNE has a significant presence of greeting cards with a careful preparation and presentation in different formats of the sheet, brochures and attractive diptics transfers cromolitografía. Most are spanish cards but there are also english, german and french. Situated in the period since 1880 to 1950.

In parallel and also in the 19th century extends the practice of providing small cards printed by apprentices, postmen, fashion, buttons, bakers, electricians, serene, or delivery of newspapers with the twin objectives of the Christmas congratulate their clients and make extra "" for the holidays. The almost five hundred christmas greetings to workers from different offices is acquired in 1994 and belongs to a time period between 1880 and 1960 to help us understand the evolution aesthetics of this peculiar form of congratulations passed away.

2. Roles of letters and orlas calligraphic layouts

This sort of documents were provided in schools and school work of children to their families so that they could see its evolution. congratulations Are in verse undertaken by schoolchildren and aimed at persons of the family environment on the occasion of its onomastics or christmas. The practice of sending this kind of enlightened letters addressed to families extends from the last decades of the 19th century until the mid-twentieth century. The BNE opens this collection with the purchase of a small representation of 40 letters illustrated in the year 2006, which is growing with subsequent procurement.

3. Invoices and commercial letters

This collection contains the documentation generated by the commercial activities developed in spain between 1880 and 1960 across industries. Learned in 2006 it is a sampling of business correspondence of great interest in the range of factories, industries and spanish companies of all kinds: food, drink, clothing, fabrics and accessories, hygiene products, cosmetics and perfumery, furniture, jewellery and costume jewellery, hotels, transport, agricultural machinery, building materials, chemical and pharmaceutical products, blast furnaces, graphic arts and publicity, etc.

The commercial letters and invoices provided information on stockpiles of the owner, the services provided and especially prices. The contents as well as the chapeau knowing questions relating to financial issues, consumer habits and evolution of the commercial language. Initially the illustrations of invoices and letters were headers estampaban in sheets of metal and subsequently in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries the color is incorporated into these documents through fotomecánicas lithography and techniques.

4. Postcards

From 1892 in Spain the industrial and trade and development of the postcard that leads to the emergence of specialized workshops in its edition. In 1996 the collection of Ephemera inaugurates the postcards with the acquisition by purchase of twenty-five sets of postcards with a diversity iconográfica in which they are those used as an advertising support of drinks, cars and beauty products or series illustrated with feminine figures of Art Nouveau style ” but the collection also includes political satire and caricature, historical scenes, scenes of baths, signs of the zodiac, representation of the four seasons, etc. Considered postcards artistic some are compositions of artists from the early twentieth century such as Ramón Casas, Alexandre de Riquer, Miguel Utrillo, Luis Labarta, josé Cusachs, josé Triadó and Apel · les Mestres. From this first purchase postal collection has been increased considerably with subsequent procurement both purchase as donations.