The year of 1950 the “Photo Goldner” Agency sent two photographers to portray Spain. In the same trip they also crossed the Mediterranean for a “Romantic Tour” in Tunisia and Morocco. We know very little about this Photo Goldner Agency, solely that it had its headquarters in number 4 Claude Debussy square, 17th district of the city of Paris. Also they worked mainly with magazines and publications like LIFE.

What makes this a great and interesting photographic feature is the fact that the famous monuments of the city are not the main theme, instead the little streets and small spaces are. This makes it very valuable and rare, for it did not seek to reproduce the clichés that were already an all-time best-sellers since the XIXth century. 

Some of these photographs are being now sold in a French web site that specializes in this sort of forgotten material. Some are copies in paper and others are negatives 6x6. The photographs were taken from a Leica camera and are of great quality; plus the photographers had a good and able eye.

Here is a small selection with a brief note at the bottom.

A group of children return from the fountain close to the church of Saint Jose, they went there to collect water; the fountain still works as of today. The church in the picture has been recently restored and enhanced. The car likely belonged to the photographers and the picture could have been taken from the inside of the same sticking the camera out of the car. In the top of the picture the traditional tile mural of the “Nitrates of Chile” company, now lost, can be seen.

Tendillas Square. Idle audience curious about a tourist asking questions with a map in hand. It is likely that the tourist was one of the companions of the photographers. A street organ, very common then, amuses the city’s square with its music.

Citizens enjoy a beer in the terrace of the Gran Bar. The Hotel Boston appears at the back. The Tendillas Square was the center to all commercial and leisure activities of the city, most buses had their main stop here.

Aladreros Square, next to the Gallegos Gate at the beginning of Concepcion street. We can see two women heading to mass, probably to Saint Hipólito church. The central market once located in the Corredera had been closed so any square was a good place to improvise a small market. Thus Aladreros square gathered groceries stores, butcher’s and fish markets.

A stand where melons and churros are sold. You can vaguely notice the scene in the previous photograph. To the left one can appreciate the end of Concepcion street of Gallegos Gate and some trees of the Victoria gardens.

A merchant selling flowers and pots. It is difficult to guess the exact location were this picture was taken but it is, I am certain, far from the previous ones.

We come to the end of this first chapter of the series. The pictures shows us a social perspective different from the usual clichés. Our second issue is to be more interesting as we shall meet the photographers and enjoy the better quality of the pictures for they are negatives of great detail.

See you next week!

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See CHapter 2
https://hotelviento10.es/es/arte/cordoba-1950-capitulo-2