Port access- The phototypes, published between 1890 and 1895, feature views of factories and mines in Bizkaia, as well as the constant activity in the port.
- Hauser & Menet was the leading Spanish phototype printing company, and the images featured in the calendar have survived to this day thanks to collector José Antonio Soto.
- The calendar is available at the Itsasmuseum, where the prints will be on display at an outdoor exhibition until 23 January.
This year, the Bilbao Port Authority, true to its commitment to recovering and promoting the photographic heritage of the region, has once again illustrated its calendar with historic images of Bizkaia.
For the 2026 calendar, the images are from a series of digitally coloured phototypes, or collotypes, published by Hauser & Menet between 1890 and 1895, which have survived to this day thanks to the efforts of collector José Antonio Soto. The prints selected for the calendar show areas of Bilbao, Erandio, Galdames, Getxo, Lutxana, Portugalete and Santurtzi. In addition to capturing the urban landscape, the artists focused their attention on the major infrastructure of the time, such as factories and mines, as well as the incessant activity of the port, depicting the industrial development of the region.
Hauser & Menet Printing House
Hauser & Menet, founded in Madrid in 1890, was considered the best Spanish phototype printing house. The company produced prints and postcards of exceptional clarity, achieving a high level of perfection.
Phototype is a procedure for reproducing prints formed by inked gelatin reliefs on a glass base, which are then printed by pressure onto paper.
The Swiss photographers Adolfo Menet Kursteiner and Oscar Hauser Müller arrived in Madrid in 1890 to collaborate with the Sociedad Artística Fotográfica (Artistic Photographic Society).
They later founded their own publishing house, which, despite having several different owners over the years, always retained the trade name “Hauser & Menet”, remaining in business for almost ninety years.
The photos featured in the calendar will be on display as large-format prints on the esplanade of the Itsasmuseum between December 5 and January 23. The calendar itself will be available with the admission ticket to the museum.
