Juego de la baraja para los niños.
Printed broadside (43.4 x 32 cm). Letterpress, “Núm. 59.” on upper left corner, and wood-engraved vignettes; caption title on top, game instructions printed vertically at center, and imprint at bottom. Five small pinholes on along the left margin, not affecting image area. Generally excellent. This auca of a card game for children features 48 wood-engraved vignettes in four groups of 12, each with individual captions, and an “Explicación del juego” printed vertically in the center, followed by detailed instructions on playing the game. The auca, a unique visual storytelling format, originated in Catalonia. They are separately printed sheets which were sold individually. Similar to comics but with a more structured approach, aucas typically feature 48 evenly sized images, each accompanied by a rhyming couplet of text known as a rodolí. Aucas appear to have developed in the 17th century and were used for gambling and divination. Over time, they evolved into a popular art form, often depicting themes related to arts, crafts, games, and animals. Aucas reached their artistic zenith in the 19th century, with renowned artists collaborating with printers like Llorens and expanding their scope to include history, biography, and moral tales. While the popularity of aucas began to decline in the late 19th century, they found new life in Madrid, where a series of Castilian aucas called “aleluya” were produced, focusing on Catholic holidays. Little is known about the printer, Juan Llorens, who was an active printer of aucas in Barcelona in the mid-19th century.
* See Monserrat Galí Boadella, Imatges de la Memòria (Barcelona: Editorial Alta Fulla, 1999).
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