Domingo was born in 1912, Carmen in 1913, Ventalló entry, [in:] Ancestry service, available here
augustouribe.com
Augusto Uribe, El boom de la política ficción, [in:] BEM 68 (1999), available online hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
one author claims that Cirici launched his press career at the age of 14, which would point to the years of 1892–1893, see Uribe 1999, available hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Another author cites a Comarca note from 1895; it welcomes Cirici as the new member of the staff, Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 32
bne.es
hemerotecadigital.bne.es
his exact segundo apellido is not clear. In two obituaries, probably published by his son, he is noted as "Traver", compare La Cruz 10.07.12, available here, and El Correo Espanol 09.07.12, available here. The biographer of Cirici Ventallo claims that the correct spelling is "Travé", Àngels Carles-Pomar, Domingo Cirici Ventalló: un periodista terrassenc a Madrid, Terrassa 2007, ISBN9788493542405, p. 31. She also advances a catalanised version of his name, "Matias Cirici i Travé", which he was unlikely to use; if so, he would have used "Matías Cirici y Travé"
his date of death is clear, see e.g. El Correo Espanol 09.07.12, available here. His date of birth is subject to doubt. A newspaper obituary claims he died "at the age of 77", which might point to 1835 though also 1834 or 1836, see La Cruz 10.07.12, available here. Cirici's biographer claims – possibly on basis of official documentation – that he was born in 1837, Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 31
Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 31; some family members including his brother were also noted as related to Seu d’Urgell, see La Discusion 19.05.59, available here
Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 32. Possibly he was also related to Escuela Apostólica del Sagrado Corazón in Barcelona, La Dinastía 19.08.97, available here
La Mañana 05.01.12, available here, El Siglo Futuro 15.02.12, available here. According to some sources Cirici took over El Fusil from the late Arrufat, La Epoca 06.03.13, available here
Alfonso Botti, Clericalismo y asociacionismo católico en España: de la restauración a la transición: un siglo entre el palio y el consiliario, Cuenca 2005, ISBN9788484273912, p. 82. Cirici was also in the board of Sociedad Previsión Periodistica, La Epoca 10.07.12, available here
the protagonist is Manuel Anfruns, a lad from a decent family. As vice-president of Juventud Liberal he edits the local party daily and with money from his Mexican fiancé buys himself a place in the Barcelona ayuntamiento. He then outmanouvres a fellow party colleague to obtain the Cortes ticket and gets married, though he knows his millionaire bride had amorous episodes back in America. Considered an expert economist, he is applauded by Unamuno and Romanones. Banking on his political connections Anfrúns launches shady businesses, including a daily and a trading house. His partners outsmart him and his political cronies abandon him when in need; though twice re-elected he gets into trouble. Anfrúns assaults his former partner on the street and is challenged to a duel. He intends to avoid it but is forced to accept and gets severely wounded. His bank is bankrupt and the casino he sets up is plundered by a smart gambler. He then engages in supply of horses and mules to the French army, but the corrupted French block the deal. Anfruns dies; his former cronies rob his belongings and in display of hypocrisy erect a monument to him, though after some time it is removed to suburbian location, pelted with stones by local boys. Interestingly, there are some similarities between Anfruns and Cirici: medicine-related family, early marriage, editorial work and intention to avoid a duel, see La Nación 16.12.16, available here
La Epoca 09.12.17, available here. Matias Cirici was listed as involved in Traditionalist initiatives, see El Pensamiento Español 11.07.65, available here. In 1883 the press noted a bomb attempt against his house in Terrassa; no further details are known yet it might have been related to his Carlist stand, La Discusión 24.10.83, available here. Moreover, his brother Bartolomeo was member of Junta Catolico-Monarquica in Seu d'Urgell, while another brother Andres served as parish priest in Aja and was author or religious booklets, Camino de la virtud y reglamento de vida para una familia cristina (Barcelona, 1875) and Novenario de discursos dogmáticos sobre los asuntos que hoy día más conviene tocar en una parróquia (Barcelone, 1892), Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 31
La Lectura Dominical 02.10.15, available here; the French were following Cirici quite closely and during the Great War he regularly appeared in digest of the foreign press, prepared by the French Ministry of War, see many issues of Bulletin quotidien de presse étrangère, available here
Nuevo Mundo 07.04.16, available here, Carles-Pomar 2000, p. 26. Interestingly, Cerdá was a republican and published his dystopia as a counter-version to this proposed by Cirici; moreover, Cirici as an icon of obscurantism is mentioned in the novel himself: "Se vivía en la creencia de que no quedaban ya más tradicionalistas que Cirici Ventalló para regocijar á los „neos” escribiendo chirigotas, y Vázquez Mella para pronunciar discursos altisonantes, puesto de chambergo”, Elias Cerdá, Don Quijote en la guerra, Madrid 1915, p. 74
La Lectura Dominical 02.10.15, available here; the French were following Cirici quite closely and during the Great War he regularly appeared in digest of the foreign press, prepared by the French Ministry of War, see many issues of Bulletin quotidien de presse étrangère, available here
cervantesvirtual.com
Matías Cirici-Ventalló entry, [in:] CervantesVirtual service, available hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
eluniversal.com.mx
archivo.eluniversal.com.mx
Maru Ruiz de Icaza, Carmen Cirici-Ventalló, [in:] El Universal 02.01.00, available here
endrets.cat
Ventalló i Vintó, Pere Antoni entry, [in:] Endrets service, available here
jcyl.es
bibliotecadigital.jcyl.es
however, some contemporaries doubted whether his germanophilia was genuine and suggested that an intelligent man inside, he only "appears to be a troglodite": "Ventalló es jaimista y no mellista, francés y no alemán, cantor de La Marsellesa y enemigo de Torquemada. Pero todo esto lo es en la intimidad. Aparentemente es un troglodita horriplante", Luis Anton del Olmet, Los Bocheros, Madrid 1915, p. 147, available here
lavanguardia.com
hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com
Concepcion died in 1926, La Vanguardia 20.05.26, available here; she was also known as Asunción, La Vanguardia 12.05.26, available here. Zoila died in 1931, La Vanguardia 16.10.31, available here. Constancia died in 1982, La Vanguardia 01.04.82, available here
La Vanguardia 29 December 1916, available here. In comparison, the hugely successful Entre naranjos by Blasco Ibáñez sold in 1919 in 85,000 copies, while Sin novedad en el frente by Remarque sold in 1929 in 110,000. The most popular "novelistas eróticos" like Alberto Insúa or Pedro Mata used to sell their best books in 30–40,000 copies, Martínez 2001, p. 202
mcu.es
prensahistorica.mcu.es
his exact segundo apellido is not clear. In two obituaries, probably published by his son, he is noted as "Traver", compare La Cruz 10.07.12, available here, and El Correo Espanol 09.07.12, available here. The biographer of Cirici Ventallo claims that the correct spelling is "Travé", Àngels Carles-Pomar, Domingo Cirici Ventalló: un periodista terrassenc a Madrid, Terrassa 2007, ISBN9788493542405, p. 31. She also advances a catalanised version of his name, "Matias Cirici i Travé", which he was unlikely to use; if so, he would have used "Matías Cirici y Travé"
his date of death is clear, see e.g. El Correo Espanol 09.07.12, available here. His date of birth is subject to doubt. A newspaper obituary claims he died "at the age of 77", which might point to 1835 though also 1834 or 1836, see La Cruz 10.07.12, available here. Cirici's biographer claims – possibly on basis of official documentation – that he was born in 1837, Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 31
born 1903, died 1980, Hoja Oficial de Lunes 31.03.80, available here
Ana was born in 1916, El Debate 12.03.21, available here
it is not clear when Francisco was born, El Debate 09.12.17, available here
officially his position was "redactor jefé de El Correo Español", Diario de Valencia 13.01.18, available here. The title corresponded to editor-in-chief; the number one position was held by "director", e.g. the manager
his name appeared 375 times in Diario de Valencia between 1910 and 1917, compare the PrensaHistorica service, available here
La Cruz 01.12.11, available here, see also a photo prior to 81 in Juan Ramón de Andrés Martín, El cisma mellista. Historia de una ambición política, Madrid 2000, ISBN9788487863820
see e.g. an obituary by Peñaflor, El Día de Palencia 15.12.17, available here
the opinion of Maximiliano García Venero, see Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 29.12.41, available here
according to one source La Tribuna stopped serializing Memorias due to protests of its readers, El Cantábrico 01.12.12, available here
Cirici sold rights to República for 10,000 pesetas, a very substantial sum given at the same time Unamuno in 12 years earned 4,000 ptas on sales of his 10 books, Martínez 2001, p. 201. The editor earned 100,000 pesetas from further República sales. Similarly, La Tragedia was owned by El Debate, the paper which signed Cirici on exclusive contract. Cirici had no other income than his books and his press contributions, and he had to support a 7-person family, Diario de Valencia 09.12.17, available here
Cirici died due to appendicitis, El Pueblo 09.12.17, available here
many newspapers for months ran a charity campaign to assist the Cirici family, see e.g. El Debate 15.04.18, available here. The widow and 5 children had no income and apparently were left in financial dire straits. It is not clear whether the Cirici and the Babé families were in position to help, though the family of Ventalló probably was able to provide some assistance
El Luchador 04.09.31, available here. The author, Roberto Castrovido, dismissed Cirici's novel as half-baked fantasy and declared that the actual republic, born in 1931, had nothing in common with the corrupted, unstable, chaotic republic as depicted in 1911
Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 29.12.41, available here
memoriademadrid.es
La Epoca 09.12.17, available here. Matias Cirici was listed as involved in Traditionalist initiatives, see El Pensamiento Español 11.07.65, available here. In 1883 the press noted a bomb attempt against his house in Terrassa; no further details are known yet it might have been related to his Carlist stand, La Discusión 24.10.83, available here. Moreover, his brother Bartolomeo was member of Junta Catolico-Monarquica in Seu d'Urgell, while another brother Andres served as parish priest in Aja and was author or religious booklets, Camino de la virtud y reglamento de vida para una familia cristina (Barcelona, 1875) and Novenario de discursos dogmáticos sobre los asuntos que hoy día más conviene tocar en una parróquia (Barcelone, 1892), Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 31
myheritage.pl
Domènec Ventalló Llobateras entry, [in:] MyHeritage service, available here
raco.cat
according to some rather unjustly; when other correspondents went to great lengths covering local events, Cirici wrote his correspondence from a cafeteria. He was declared hijo adoptivo by Pont de Vilomara as recognition of his article for El Noticiero, which praised brave local people; the article was written without Cirici ever visiting the town, see Les memòries de Clovis Eimeric, [in:] Annals del periodisme catala 13 (1935), available here. The same fellow journalist also elsewhere claims that Cirici preferred lively language to accuracy, see Lluís Almerich, La mala vida del periodista, [in:] Annals del periodisme catala 15 (1935), p. 531, available here
Àngels Carles-Pomar, Domingo Cirici Ventalló: un periodista terrassenc a Madrid, Terrassa 2007, ISBN9788493542405. For scholarly review of the book see Sanllehí i Bitrià 2007, available online here
tdx.cat
in German the book appeared as Kitcheners Geheimnis: Heiteres über d. Weltkrieg (Leipzig 1915), and in Swedish as Kitcheners hemlighet: en fantasi om världskriget (Stockholm 1915), Àngels Carles-Pomar, Juntes militars versus Juntes de Defensa. Militarisme a Espanya i Portugal al final de la Gran Guerra [PhD thesis Universitat Pompeu Fabra], Barcelona 2011, p. 333, available here
web.archive.org
Augusto Uribe, El boom de la política ficción, [in:] BEM 68 (1999), available online hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Matías Cirici-Ventalló entry, [in:] CervantesVirtual service, available hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
one author claims that Cirici launched his press career at the age of 14, which would point to the years of 1892–1893, see Uribe 1999, available hereArchived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Another author cites a Comarca note from 1895; it welcomes Cirici as the new member of the staff, Carles-Pomar 2007, p. 32
wikipedia.org
ca.wikipedia.org
according to some rather unjustly; when other correspondents went to great lengths covering local events, Cirici wrote his correspondence from a cafeteria. He was declared hijo adoptivo by Pont de Vilomara as recognition of his article for El Noticiero, which praised brave local people; the article was written without Cirici ever visiting the town, see Les memòries de Clovis Eimeric, [in:] Annals del periodisme catala 13 (1935), available here. The same fellow journalist also elsewhere claims that Cirici preferred lively language to accuracy, see Lluís Almerich, La mala vida del periodista, [in:] Annals del periodisme catala 15 (1935), p. 531, available here
es.wikipedia.org
El Luchador 04.09.31, available here. The author, Roberto Castrovido, dismissed Cirici's novel as half-baked fantasy and declared that the actual republic, born in 1931, had nothing in common with the corrupted, unstable, chaotic republic as depicted in 1911
worldcat.org
in the early 1950s he published few works on literature in Guatemala in Cuadernos hispanoamericanos, see e.g.WorldCat service, available here
