L'Esquella de la Torratxa

L'Esquella de la Torratxa, meaning "the cowbell of the turret", was first published on 5 May 1872. It began during an officially-decreed suspension of the publication of La Campana de Gràcia, a more overtly political magazine. It would, however, become very critical of Barcelona mayor Francisco Ríos Taulet and his promotion of the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition which was seen by many as a wasteful extravagancy.

The magazine had a succession of directors along its existence, beginning with José Roca Roca, followed by others such as Mario Aguilar, Prudenci Bertrana and Pere Calders. Among the most notable article writers for the magazine were Santiago Rusiñol, under the pen name "Xarau", Prudenci Bertrana, Francesc Curet, Antoni Rovira Virgili, Gabriel Alomar and Màrius Aguilar.[1]

The main illustrators for the magazine were Apeles Mestres, Tomás Padrón, José Luis Pellicer, Luis Bagaría, Manuel Moliné, José Segrelles, Lorenzo Brunet, José Costa «Picarol», Juan Junceda, Jaime Pajarito, Félix Elías («Apa»), Jaime Juez («Xirinius»), Román Bonet («Bon»), Antonio Roca, Ricardo Opisso, Rosa Riera and Isidro Nonel. In 1939, after José María Planas, the director of El Be Negre, was murdered by anarchists some of the illustrators working for that magazine began working for L'Esquella de la Torratxa.[2]

L'Esquella de la Torratxa came out for the last time on 6 January 1939, when General Franco's Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War) was poised to conquer Barcelona. Since 1872 it had published a total of 3,096 issues.[3]

• La Campana de Gràcia
• Ricard Opisso
• Santiago Rusiñol

• Media related to Esquella de la Torratxa at Wikimedia Commons
• Opisso, l’Esquella i la guerra del Rif
• La Esquella de la torratxa: periódich satírich
• Francesc Mestre: Ilustradores Ilustres