Librería Porrúa Hermanos y Compañía S.A. de C.V. is a

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

and

publishing company Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and is one of the longest-established businesses operating in the Mexican book trade. The Porrúa name has been associated with books and publishing since the beginning of the 20th century, through its flagship Librería Porrúa bookstore in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and subsidiary stores throughout the country, and the company's renowned and extensive publishing business operating under the names and imprints of Librería Porrúa Hermanos and Editorial Porrúa.

History

Hermanos Porrúa has over 100 years of history as bookseller and publisher in Mexico. In the second half of the 19th century, three brothers emigrated from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to Mexico City: José, Indalecio and Francisco Porrúa. Indalecio had a market stall on what is now Del Carmen Street, north northwest of the

Zócalo Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztecs, Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza us ...

, in which he had a sign stating that he bought and sold libraries. His business was successful enough that he asked his brothers to join him. The libraries that they purchased were important not only for the works that they contained but also because from whom they were purchased, including some of the Mexico City's nobility. They published Mexico's first bibliography called the "Boletín Bibliográfico" which categorized the antique books for sale. It and others like it would set the value of most of the antique books in Mexico over the following century.

Publishing

Porrúa began publishing in 1910, starting with a "Guide to the City of Mexico" by José Romero, physically printed in Spain but distributed in Mexico by Porrúa. Four years later, the first book completely published in Mexico, a collection of poems, was offered by the company. The company's logo, called the "Caballero Aguila" (Eagle Knight) was devised in 1915 by Saturnino Herrán. During the 1930s (at least), the business published as "Porrúa Hermanos y compania". The modern organization of the business took shape in 1940, changing its name to Editorial Porrúa and the company began printing specialty books, such as those on law and art. In 1959, Porrúa began printing a series of classical works with the aim of making these more affordable to the general public. Starting in 1964, Porrúa began publishing its own reference work called "El Diccionario de Historia Biografía y Geografía de México" (Dictionary of the History, Biographies and Geography of Mexico) and in 1992 began a division dedicated to young readers, starting with a version of the story of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

Bookstore

The original site of Librería Hermanos Porrúa is at the corner of República de Argentina and Justo Sierra Street in the historic center of

. The building was originally a house that dates from the 18th century and has two floors. The outside of the building maintains much of original décor, such as the geometric design on both floors, a niche with a statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and iron railings on the windows of the upper floor. The inside of the building has been completely modernized and the lower floor is dedicated to the bookstore. From the original store in the Centro Histórico, Porrúa now has stores in all of the states of México and is also present in many location of the department store El Palacio de Hierro and the office supply chain Office Max in México.

Notes

References

External links

Librería Porrúa website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porrua, Libreria Bookstores of Mexico Book publishing companies of Mexico Mass media in Mexico City