Memory, experience and consumption. The printed and illustrated ephemera of the Archivo Profumo (Buenos Aires, 1910-1980)

Since the nineteenth century and with greater intensity in the twentieth century, an ephemeral graphic imagery invaded everyday life on a previously unknown scale. These objects printed on paper with generally industrial techniques emerged linked to the daily, administrative, economic and pedagogical dimension of urban life and the consumer society of industrial capitalism. Often destined to be discarded after a specific use, some of them remained in public or private collections and were preserved for their symbolic, aesthetic or emotional value. In Argentina, the vast majority of these prints have been lost, neglected, or found in fragmented collections, rarely known, dispersed in sets grouped by their use or theme. They have been rejected by high culture and relegated by academic research. However, these devices, as part of the common graphic heritage, shaped the visual and material culture of the past, and treasure experiences and a collective social memory. For these reasons, the Profumo Archive represents a unique case in the local sphere, as it brings together a collection that, due to its features and dimensions, stands out from other public or private collections in the country.