La Ilustración Española y Americana was a weekly Spanish magazine that was published from 1869 to 1921 on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 30th of every month. It was also published biweekly.[1]
On its masthead, it was described as a magazine of "sciences, arts, literature, trade and useful knowledge". It was founded in 1869 in Madrid by Abelardo de Carlos [es], a writer and entrepreneur who had previously published two other magazines (La Revista Médica and La Moda Elegante e Ilustrada). Three years later, the building where it was printed collapsed, killing three people, so Carlos rebuilt with a new, state-of-the-art press. He served as the magazine's Director until 1881, when management passed to his sons Abelardo and Isidro, and he died in 1884.
As its name would indicate, it was profusely illustrated with scenes from daily life in Spain and Hispanic America, where it was also distributed. It became an "authentic school for masters of the graphic arts". Bernardo Rico y Ortega [es], an engraver and brother of the painter, Martín Rico, was the Artistic Director; responsible for the magazine's design and printing.
^Jesús María Sanchidrián Gallego, Ávila romántica: Ávila monumental, artística y pintoresca en la fotografía de J. Laurent (1864-1886). Piedra Caballera. ISBN978-84-613-5859-5.
Further reading
Esperanza Cobos Castro, La poesía francesa en la Ilustración española y americana, self-published (1982)
Blas Sierra de la Calle, Filipinas 1870-1898: imágenes de la ilustración española y americana, Caja España, 1998 ISBN84-8773-966-0