The Municipal Archive of Reus (Tarragona) has incorporated the heritage collection of Bofarull-Vilar, one of the wealthy families in the history of the city. Altogether, thousands of documents have been donated in different formats – parchment, plastic or glass – as well as books and photographic materials from the 16th century to the 21st century.
Although the exact number of elements has not yet been quantified, sources from the council have confirmed that it becomes the largest transfer of a private fund.
The director of the archive, Elisenda Cristià , has celebrated the “great historical value” of the material for “la memoria de la ciudad”.
Cristià highlighted that documentation from the jeweler and archivist Celdoni Vilà is also included, which, he added, will be “worthy of in-depth study.”
The owner of this entire heritage fund, Jordi Bofarull-Vilar, has stated that although it is a “family archive”, citizens must understand it as “the history of a city, a region and a country.”
Within this collection there are not only documents related to Reus, but also from other neighboring municipalities such as Tarragona, Valls, Montblanc or Riudoms, as well as from outside the province such as Seu d’Urgell or Cervera (Lleida).
“With its content you can follow the history of the last 300 years, mainly,” said Bofarull-Vilar, who added that with this documentary set you can learn about “the way of living, what the daily life of families was like.” , of their family economy, of the city’s businesses or the activity that was experienced.”
Some words that have also been shared by the director of the Reus Municipal Archive, Elisenda Cristià , who has thanked the family for the transfer of 30 linear meters of documents, which is equivalent to 300 boxes. In them, you can see documents intended to legitimize the heritage and its transmission – wills or marital chapters -, other more administrative ones – account books or receipts – or judicial ones – sentences or requirements -.
Personal documentation is one of the most important parts of the transferred fund. “We found correspondence, photographs, school notebooks, recipe books, among others,” detailed Cristià , who celebrated that it is precisely this material in which he will allow us to know what daily life was like at the time.
Sources from the archive highlight that the fund also includes documentation outside the family, but that it has been acquiring, as a result of the exercise of the positions held by the different members throughout history.
In this sense they quote Pau Vilar Vendrell Pau Vilar Verdacer, they were notaries of the Seu d’Urgell between 1720 and 1805, approximately; Mariano Duran Massó, diplomat and great-uncle of the illustrious Agustà Duran i Sanpere, as well as Roman Sardà Montseny, who was linked to the “champagne” industry in Reus.
For the branch of the Bofarulls, stand out Joan Bofarull Molner, lawyer and deputy in Corts, and Antoni Bofarull Molner, industrialist and director of Yglesias
From the archive they have highlighted the documentation referring to Celdoni Vilà , who was a jeweler and archivist in Reus between the 18th and 19th centuries. According to Cristià , this material “will be worthy of in-depth study”, since it could provide “much more data” about his life and work.
In fact, the archive and council have called on researchers and historians to delve into the documentation provided, since they consider that “this collection allows for studying different areas of history and from different points of view.”
At the moment, the technicians of the Reus Municipal Archive are already working on the documentation and digitization of the collection, which is in a very good state of conservation, so that in the future – at least one year – citizens can consult and study the material.
