Why write a manual on female education?

El libro de las niñas (1845) and the Manual completo de urbanidad para las niñas (1849) by Joaquim Rubió i Ors

Abstract

This article explores the reasons that led Josep Rubió i Ors (1818-1899), Catalan poet and architect of the Renaixença, to write two textbooks on female education in Spanish:  El libro de las niñas (1845) and Manual completo de urbanidad para las niñas (1849). It is concluded that an essential factor was the sales needs of the Rubió bookshop-printing house (Barcelona) and the market for textbooks at the time. To corroborate this result, the paratexts of the two works are analysed, as well as the letters that Josep Rubió i Ors sent to his brother, while the latter held a chair at the University of Valladolid. As can be inferred from the correspondence, commercial considerations prevailed in the conception of the second textbook, a fact that can also be assumed for El libro de las niñas, a bestseller in the printing house. There is evidence that Joaquim Rubió i Ors’ interest in female education was enhanced by his knowledge of existing editions and textbooks in this field thanks to his connection with the family bookshop-printing house.