The metamorphoses of the Tezontle collection. The first literary catalogue of the Fondo de Cultura Económica

Abstract

This essay analyzes the formation of the literary catalogue of the Tezontle Collection, published by the Fondo de Cultura Economica (FCE). It studies the origin of literary publications in the development of the FCE’s original project, paying special attention to the collection’s characteristics between 1940 and 1965. During this time of the FCE’s history, directed by Daniel Cosio Villegas (1934-47) and Arnaldo Orfila Reynal (1948-65), the first titles appear under the labels Ediciones Tezontle and Tezontle. These were distributed and marketed “without any vested interest” by the FCE up until 1954. As of 1955, the Tezontle series appears listed in the FCE’s General Catalogue as one of the collections of the press, and its catalogue of titles is added to the rest of the FCE’s publications. This transition from being an independent label to being part of the FCE’s collection requires a distinctive methodology to study its pragmatic features, which are related to the cultural policies of the editors of the FCE and its publishing practices.