Texts: Ana Ribeiro, Juan José Arteaga, Gerardo Caetano and Carlos E. Martínez. In 4th grade, landscape, 318 pages. Montevideo. Linardi & Risso. 2023.
The phenomenon of postcards, of mass circulation in the first decades of the 20th century, provides us here with a surprising visual platform of Uruguay, an open window to its daily life, peace, war and communications in the years of institutional consolidation. of this republic. The work draws on the extraordinary collection of Dr. Carlos E. Martínez, a Uruguayan lawyer living in New York, from whose 22,000 pieces the edited images were selected.
In an introductory chapter, Carlos E. Martínez places us in this social practice - the production and use of postcards - at a local and international level, and its reflection in collecting, the so-called cartophilia, with an immense development in its different modalities: by theme, by photographers/editors, by location, by era, etc., etc.
Next, Ana Ribeiro enters the world of images and from the title of her contribution, “Against oblivion”, she gives an account of the fate of postcards from the times prior to the chronological segment indicated in the book; a real success.
And in this counterpoint of urban and rural spaces, Juan José Arteaga stops at “Behind the city”, referring to the characters portrayed, those marginalized from the civilizing process, as the truly forgotten ones.
In the end, Gerardo Caetano deals with the itinerary of this catalog: “a roadmap for our imaginary journey.”
Clearly, a work for the delight and consultation among those interested in the history of the sister nation of the River Plate.
