Between Architecture and Poetry

Materiality of Books in the Work of Luís de Montalvor and in the Portuguese Press in the 1940s

Abstract

Our aim is to contextualize and analyse two articles by the Portuguese poet Luís de Montalvor, which refer to the materiality of books as well as some other works published in the Portuguese press in the 1940s. Montalvor’s first article was published in Panorama magazine in 1943, an edition of the National Propaganda Secretariat created in Portugal in 1933. The second was published in the magazine Seara Nova (1944). Published at the same time, they were both given the same title “The art of the book” by their author. Our proposal is to assess how the author understood the materiality of texts, using the metaphors of architecture and poetry as an opportunity to think about the Portuguese publishing market in the 1940s. Our hypothesis is that Luís de Montalvor contributed to understanding the role of the material condition of texts by defending typography as a fundamental resource for publishing in that context. Luís de Montalvor’s reflections highlight the place and relevance of the material condition of printed matter, considering art to be the appanage of the book. For contextualization purposes, we have tried to highlight some articles and works published in the Portuguese press on the same theme: the materiality of texts and publishing production. We have also chosen some academic works that have taken typography as an object of study in contemporary times, and which therefore help us to understand the previously mentioned production scenario of Montalvor’s writings.