Book launch

“Caldevilla: the creator of modern advertising in Portugal”
by Eduardo Cintra Torres and Pedro Almeida Leitão

Opening Jorge Sobrado, Councillor for Culture – Presentation Vasco Ribeiro

On January 28, at 6pm, the Almeida Garrett Municipal Library will host the launch of the book “Caldevilla: o criador da publicidade moderna em Portugal” (Caldevilla: the creator of modern advertising in Portugal), by Eduardo Cintra Torres and Pedro Almeida Leitão. The session will be attended by the authors, opened by Jorge Sobrado, Councillor for Culture, and presented by Vasco Ribeiro.

Raul de Caldevilla, born in Porto in 1876, is a central figure in Portuguese cultural history who was forgotten for decades. A diplomat and commercial agent in the early years of his professional life, in 1914 he founded ETP – Escritório Técnico de Publicidade, the first full-service advertising agency in Portugal. From this innovative structure, Caldevilla made a unique contribution to national heritage, working in multiple fields: from advertisements to posters, from outdoor advertising to cinema.

In 1917, he organized the first multimedia advertising campaign in Portugal, which included filming the Puertollanos climbing the Clérigos Tower. The success of this initiative led to the creation of Caldevilla Film, responsible for the production of two feature-length fiction films, also establishing him as a pioneer of national cinema.

After an abrupt halt to his career in 1923, Caldevilla reinvented himself. Over the next decade he was an insurance salesman, broadcaster, social columnist and recorded poetry. In 1933, he launched “Folhetim Utilitário” in the newspaper O Primeiro de Janeiro, a daily advertising section of an absolutely original international nature, which he coordinated until his death in 1951.

The result of almost six years of research, this exhaustive biography, to be completed in 2026 with an illustrated volume, is published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth and 75th anniversary of the death of Caldevilla, the man who, for the first time in Portugal, was called an advertiser. The book rescues him from oblivion and puts him back in the history of Porto and Portugal as the creator of modern advertising and the first modern advertising agency in the country, also broadening knowledge about his pioneering work in national cinema and revealing countless unpublished aspects of his creative and business activity.

Published by Porto City Council, the volumes dedicated to Caldevilla make a decisive contribution to the appreciation of advertising as a cultural industry and an integral part of popular culture, helping to inscribe Raul de Caldevilla in the pantheon of illustrious Porto residents.

About the authors

Eduardo Cintra Torres has been a university professor and researcher for over three decades. With a degree in History (FLUL), a Master’s in Communication (ISCTE-IUL) and a PhD in Sociology (ICS-UL), he is the author of 23 books, with research centered on the history of advertising in Portugal. His most recent works include História da Publicidade em Portugal and História Ilustrada da Publicidade em Portugal (2023), Santo António na Publicidade (2025) and, with Pedro Almeida Leitão, Caldevilla e os Seguros (2025). He has published dozens of scientific articles and book chapters and has curated exhibitions in this field.

Pedro Almeida Leitão has a PhD in History from the University of Porto and is a researcher in the areas of the history of brands and advertising in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a particular focus on the Port wine sector. In 2024, he was awarded the Victor de Sá Prize in Contemporary History (ex aequo). He is a member of scientific projects at CITCEM/FLUP, participates in international intellectual property research networks and is a trainer in the area of the history of wine in Portugal.