Hello once again from My Fanciful Muse to Yours. Today in Part 2 of Spanish Paper Theaters, I have another Paluzie Theater to share and then at the end of the post there are a few more mini Paluzie theaters for some added fun. If you want to catch up the previous post (Paluzie Part 1) can be seen - HERE This is part of the Paluzie Theater Nº 1028 I've altered and with a fun vintage paper curtain I've also altered. This Paluzie Theater (Nº 1028) originally has a "topper" on it but I personally like the theater without it and wanted to show it displayed in this fashion to show that it can easily be removed to give the theater a other look. If you've been following my Toy Theater Posts, the curtain shown here probably looks familiar... and that would be correct. I used a red and green version of it on the Cherub Theater Part 1 post - HERE and I'll be including it again today with this theater. I'm still trying to discover who made or published this particular curtain and if I do I'll update the post to show that information. If any viewer knows who made this curtain or to what toy theater it belongs... I'd love to know, so drop me comment or email. Thanks in advance. This Paluzie, Barcelona theater started off as an uncut paper sheet from Spain. Though nice in it's original state I did some digital clean up and assembly and created two slightly different color versions of it for this post. Preview Sheet for the Paluzie Nº 1028 Theater The above sheet shows the progress from the original sheet (the first image at the very top) and the various new looks the theater can when using the project print sheets that will be included below. The original theater sheet had some "extras" at the lower portion of the stage I did not like and so for my rendition of the theater those have been eliminated. The next change thought subtle was some clean up and highlighting of the figures at the top of the theater. Changes made to the upper decorative portion of the proscenium The digital alterations I made to the proscenium and especially the topper can best be shown with the above image. The changes are subtle but I think they make a world of difference in allowing the image to "pop" and give it a bit more dimension than it originally had. The colors have been enhanced, more shadows were put in behind the figures and I backed the finished image with black for added definition. Below are two printable theater play sheets; featuring my rendition of the Paluzie, Barcelona Nº 1028 Theater. Each is a slightly different color versions of the theater with a few curtain options I came up with. I call the one closest to the original "Sunset" and the pinker one "Melon". Set #1 - Sunset Color Version I call this set "Sunset" due to the stronger theme of reds and golds The super fancy curtain is unidentified but the other curtain sets on the pages have been altered from a set originally produced in 1924 by the Danish Publication Illustreret Familie-Jounal. It can be seen HERE and other colorized versions of it can be seen - HERE. They go so well with a variety of model theaters that I tend to alter and recycle them as needed. Set 2 - Melon Color Version I call this set "Melon" due to shades that remind me of watermelon and cantaloupe You can get a totally different look on the theater by removing the upper portion, with the figures; as I did with the first image shown on today's post. Also, the "green" and "yellow" curtains from each set could easily be used with the opposite theater coloration scheme if you wanted to mix things up even more. Add in some backgrounds and interesting character figures and you can build any number of compositions that are unique. These can be used to build cards, dioramas or actual working mini theaters, depending on the amount of time you want to invest in your build. To get you started I've created a sheet with a few vintage Paluzie backgrounds and matching side wings pieces that can be used with these theater sheets. Two background and side wing sets The side wing panels are used to create illusion and depth within a toy theater, just as they would be used on a real stage. Below I've included a photo I found on the web showing the Paluzie theater and in it you can see some side wings plated in between the front of the theater and the back background. Paluzie Toy Theater - From The Bruce Museum's exhibit "A Child's View" The above image can be found at http://www.victoriana.com/theater/papertheaters.html and is part of an interesting article Victoriana Magazine did on Toy Theaters at the Bruce Museum. There is also a "jeweled" inner curtain in the image shown above. In the previous post I created a Toy Theater image out of Paluzie, Barcelona sheet Nº520; which is where the inner curtain came from. For this post I have included the curtain as intended. Red Curtain for the "Sunset" Theater - Raspberry Curtain for the "Melon" Theater Since I have two different color versions of the theater I wanted to provide and inner curtain that would work with each one, so here they are. ***** A bit about Paluzie, Barcelona Casa Paluzie (1865-1940) was a Spanish based publishing house. They specialized in cut-sheet, paper theater and paper toys as well as: popular prints, educational books, maps, instructional toys, and a variety of other printed paper products. The company was started in 1844 by Esteve Paluzie (1804-1873); A teacher and publishing editor and by the mid 1860's he was fully devoted to his publishing enterprise. The establishment of Don Esteban Paluzie published it's first know catalog in 1867 and continued till 1940. This was around the time of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), which was taking place as most of Europe was dealing with the beginnings of WWII. My Mother was a young girl growing up in Spain during this difficult time. She and several of my aunts and uncles have told me stories of the hardships that took it's toll all over the country due to Spain's internal conflict between The National Republic and rebel Nationalists led by Franco (Franco won by the way, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Spain's more current history.) I have to assume that the toll of the war probably had a large financial impact on the business and may have been a major cause to the end of Casa Paluzie in 1940. ***** Paluzie paper sheets are some of the rarer ones to come across, especially in the USA; however they do appear from time to time on Internet auction sites. These are what a few of the other Paluzie, Barcelona Toy Paper Theaters look like. (note - I made some updates to several items below on 11-14-2013) I digitally "cleaned up" the above 1059 Paluzie from a theater sheet I found on the Internet at "teatresdepapersalaludica.blogspot.com" - HERE The original version of the above Teatro De Sombras is from the Collection of - Francesc d' A. López Sala. Francesc has several blogs showing wonderful images of vintage paper toys. The blogs are in Spanish but the images need no translation; so I hope you check them out - HERE and HERE He was also generous enough to share with us the second sheet that works with the above theater. By cutting out the below circles and installing as shown via the diagram you will get a "moving shadow puppet show". Thanks Francesc!!! ***** The next group of theaters came as sheets that needed to be assembled to complete the Toy Theaters. Most of these sheets I was fortunate enough to purchase from European online sellers. They take a bit longer to arrive in the mail and you pay a lot for shipping to get them stateside; but I think it's worth the extra time and expense in the end when you get to see one of these beauties up close and personal. "Embocadura de Teatro - Teatro Moderno Nº 1090 bis" is shown above in both it's assembled version as well as the uncut sheet. The main portion of the theater is in one piece and then the orchestra sections need to be assembled in front to build the complete sheet as intended. This orchestra strip can be attached directly to the theater's front or it could be used to cover a front drawer that would hold additional paper sheets, characters and props used with a toy theater. The builder could also opt not to use the orchestra at all and different base could be created for the theater or drawer cover if this section was not wanted or perchance is missing. I've noticed that some Paluzie sheets have similar numbers for different images. For example, farther down you will see another Paluzie sheet numbered 1090 but that theater is a smaller version of a Theater Español with accessories and not a Teatro Moderno like the above theater. It's interesting that the above theater is Nº 1090 bis... I've noticed the "bis" ending on a few of my Paluzie sheets but they seem to be for scenery or accessories that accompany a theater facade sheet. This is the first Theater facade sheet I've had that carried a "bis" after the number. I'm not sure why two different theaters would carry the same sheet number but I'm guessing that they were made in different years and as one theater 1090 was no longer being made a different one was? I'm still searching an answer as to why "Embocadura de Teatro - Teatro Moderno Nº 1090 bis" has a bis ending next to the model number and will update the page if I ever find out - grins. (Update 5/22/2023 - "bis" numbering update - One of my readers asked for an updated on the "bis" numbering of these sheets, so I wanted to add what I can best figure out, here on this original post. It does indeed seem that the "bis" notates this sheet is not the original 1090 but "another" 1090. These are Spanish printings but in Italian referencing Latin "bis" denotes Encore! or Again! and is used in musical scores to indicate a part to be repeated. Bis is used in France and Italy instead of encore. Based on other Paluzie sheets using "bis" next to the number it seems to indicate "this is in addition to" the original # produced... It could be that the "bis" sheet is in addition to, an updated version, an altered version or possibly in the case of Teatro Moderno 1090 a replacement version. "Bis" signifies an encore but not to be confused with another by the same number.) Teatro Español Nº 1060 (Decoraciones de Teatro - Fachada) Is shown above in both the uncut sheet and a vintage assembled version. The main theater is in one piece and then the orchestra sections need to be added in front. This strip can be attached directly to the theater's front or it could be used to cover a front drawer that would hold additional paper sheets, characters and props used with a toy theater. Occasionally you can discover variation in a theaters coloration. In the above example the vintage assembled theater has slightly different coloring than the vintage uncut sheet I own but this is one of the aspects that makes vintage paper toys so much fun. And remember earlier, on the Theater 1090 bis I left a note that there were two different theaters numbered 1090, well here are two different Teatro Español theaters with the number 1060. The above Teatro Español Nº 1060 is a Decoraciones de Teatro - Fachada Nº 1060 where as the below Teator Español Nº 1060 is listed as Fachada de Teatro Nº 1060; and to make matters more confusing the below Fachada de Teator Nº 1060 theater came in a smaller size with accessories and was numbered Nº 1090 - go figure??? Paluzie 1060 was also made in a different size with a curtain on the same sheet and numbered 1090 - see next example The colors on the above vintage Teatro Español 1060 sheet are slightly different from those seen in the below version of the smaller vintage assembled Teatro Español 1090. Here again I'm not sure if this is the case with all 1060 & 1090 Teatro Español's of this style or just these shown here. Either way I find it fascinating in it's confusion. This Teatro Español shows the theater and two uncut sheets. The first uncut sheet Nº 1090 shows the theater and curtain and the second sheet Nº 1061 shows a larger curtain and stage props alone and was intended to be used with the larger Teatro Español Nº 1060 pictured above this example. Just goes to show when collecting you need to pay attention to the numbering system and verify sizing when purchasing or you could be purchasing the wrong item for your needs. The Curtain in the 1090 combination curtain/accessory sheet, is too small to work with the Fachada de Teatro Nº 1060. You need to have the larger Nº 1061 curtain and accessory sheet for the larger theater sheets: Fachada de Teatro Nº 1060 as well as the Teatro Moderno Nº 1090 bis". ***** I hope you have enjoyed exploring vintage Toy Theaters from Paluzie, Barcelona with me. These are really near and dear to my heart; but they are not the only Paper Theaters that came from Spain. Seix Barral was known for it's Toy Theater series “Teatro de los Niños” and Hernando, Madrid has at least one Paper Theater and multiple scenery sheets that I'm aware of. I might explore those with you at another time but for now My Muse seems to be heading off in another direction so we will have to put that on the back burner for a bit. So many projects and not enough hours in the day to get it all done, such is the wonder of life. Till Next Time...

Gregory Paul

Gimp Digital Collage I like the dream-like, surreal atmosphere in this piece. The beautiful curtain and the background are from old paper theatres. Credits; Man in the left window is from Pilllpat (agence eureka), the dress on the right from takeabreak. The other images are online Public Domain images. Inspired by the very talented Casajordi

Explore virginhoney's 2390 photos on Flickr!