Editorial Tor

 

 

1916. World War I was ragging across Europe.

 

Was this the reason why Spaniard Juan Torrendell left his island of Majorca to settle down in Buenos Aires, Argentina? Maybe. Although Spain was not involved in the conflict. Whatever the answer to that question, not only does he settle in Buenos Aires, but he decides to launch, in 1916, the activities of a publishing house, Editorial Tor, on 760 calle (street) Rio de Janeiro.

 

What makes this an important event for Argentine Disneyana enthusiasts is, of course, that a few years later - in 1942 to be precise – Editorial Tor would acquire a Disney license and would publish that very same year a splendid series of 12 hard cover Disney books and at least ten colouring books.

 

Quite a few other publishers were issuing Disney books at the same time in Argentina, including Brazilian Abril, Spanish Editorial Molino, French Hachette and an other Argentine company called A. Bois & Wenger. Editorial Tor stood out, however, as it issued quite a few books that were not just direct translations of the US titles but local creations. Mickey en Don Quijote (Mickey as Don Quixote), Pato Donald y los Pieles Rojas (Pato Donald and the Indians), Blancanieves y el Mago (Snow White and the Wizard) are among those.

 

Of course, others like El Toro Ferdinando (Ferdinand the Bull), El Rey Midas (King Midas) and Un Viaje de Mickey & Cia. (A Trip of Mickey and Co.) were based on existing US books, but most of the images were redrawn locally, giving a local flavour to the whole series…

 

… While reading them, one could almost smell the grilled meat, hear the music of Tango and the sad songs of the gauchos.

 

The books

 

  1. El Toro Ferdinando
  2. Mickey en Don Quijote
  3. El Rey Midas
  4. El Sueño de Pluto
  5. El Reloj de Mickey
  6. El Avestruz de Donald
  7. Un Viaje de Mickey y Cia.
  8. Pato Donald y los Pieles Rojas
  9. La Tortuga y la Liebre
  10. Pato Donald y el Quiromante
  11. Blancanieves y el Mago
  12. El Museo de las Maravillas

 

The colouring books

 

1 to 6. Titles unknown

7. Pluto

8. Title unknown

9. El Toro Ferdinando

10. Dumbo