Melchor Ferrer Dalmau (1888–1965) was a Spanish historian and a Carlist militant. He is known mostly as principal author of a massive, 30-volume series titled Historia del tradicionalismo español, considered fundamental work of reference for any student of Carlism. Ferrer is recognized also as "periodista" (journalist), chief editor of a national and a few local traditionalist dailies and contributor to a number of others. Politically he maintained a low profile, though periodically he was member of the party executive, and during internal party strife of the early 1960s his support might have tipped the balance in favor of the progressist faction.
Family and youth
Ferrer counts among the oldest and most common names in Catalonia; one family lived in the town of Mataró, where in the 14th century it was first noted when turning from "lo ferrer" to "lo Fferrer".Ramon Reixach i Puig, Els Ferrer de Mataró i el realisme constitucional català, [in:] Fulls de Museu Arxiu de Santa Maria 81 (2005), p. 4 They grew into prominence as traders and bankers in the 15th century, dubbed "primera familia de patricis de Mataró". Some of them held high posts in the Principality, e.g. emerging as its general treasurers in the 16th centuryReixach i Puig 2005, p. 15 and becoming key representatives of the emerging Catalan bourgeoisie in the 17th and 18th century. The family got very branched later on, also in the Latin America.Los Ferrer de Córdoba, [in:] Historia y Genealogía Sudamericana blog 15.12.14, available here None of the sources consulted specifies which branch Melchor descended from and little is known about his grandfather, Antonio Ferrer, a cord manufacturer ("cordonero").a possibly related Pelegrín Ferrer, following a spell in Cuba returned to Mataró to become the first director of a newly founded Colegio de Valldemia, Jaume Vellvehí i Altimira, La Renaixença a Mataró: el Col·legi Valldemia, [in:] Estudis Mataronins 23 (2006), p. 135
The father of Melchor, Antonio Ferrer Arman (1845?–1899),Vellvehí i Altimira 2006, pp. 135–136 in the 1860s studied engineering in Barcelonaand during his academic years was active in Ateneo Catalan de Clase Obrera, La Corona 09.10.63, available here; he was later co-founder of Ateneo in Mataró and became its treasurer, Francesc Enrich i Regás, Josep García i Oliver, destacat promotor de cultura a Mataró, [in:] Fulls de Museu Arxiu de Santa Maria 16 (1983), p. 28 In 1870 he applied for a job at Instituto de Tarragona but failed,La Gaceta Industrial 30.04.70, available here eventually he landed a teaching position in the Valldemia college, which at that time was already run by the Piarists.Documentación fotográfica, [in:] Fulls de Museu Arxiu de Santa Maria 100 (2011), p. 46, available here Though during his youth he demonstrated some penchant for Liberal ideas,as a student Ferrer Arman signed a public letter hailing secular education and aimed against schools run by religious orders, La Iberia 14.04.64, available here during the Third Carlist War he sided with the legitimists and volunteered to Carlist troops; details of his service are unknown, except that he grew to an officer and served under command of Rafael Tristany.El tatarabuelo carlista de Augusto Ferrer Delmau, [in:] Somatemps service 24.05.17, available here Having returned to Mataró in the mid-1880s he became first headmaster of the newly founded Escuela de Artes y OficialesIndustria y Invenciones 10.12.86, available here and remained at this post until his death,Annuario-Riera 1898, p. 634, available here teaching mathematics.Vellvehí i Altimira 2006, p. 135 In the 1890s he was also active as ingeniero municipal,Annuario-Riera 1898, p. 631, available here land surveyor and tonnage inspector,Annuario-Riera 1899, p. 656, available here co-founder of Associació Artístich-Arqueológica MataronesaVellvehí i Altimira 2006, p. 135 and author of semi-scientific works, like Geometria analítica (1898). He is counted among local Mataró intellectuals who contributed to conservative Catholic Catalanism in the area, collaborating e.g. with Josep Puig i Cadafalch.Jaume Vellvehí i Altimira, Aproximació als orígens del catalanisme al Maresme (1859–1902), [in:] Sessió d’Estudis Mataronins 19 (2002), p. 83 Ferrer Arman married Teresa Dalmau Gual, originating from Matanzas in Cuba;see Ferrer's birth certificate, available here nothing is known about her family, apart from the fact that they were also of Catalan origin and may have had a Naviera business.which disappeared after the Spanish loss of Cuba.
The couple had at least 4 children; Melchor was born among the youngest ones.María Rosa Ferrer Dalmau was born in 1880, compare La Nación 28.01.29, available here His older brothers, Antonio and Augusto, graduated as engineers and developed own textile and chemical businesses in Barcelona and Valencia.compare e.g. Industria Textil 1 (1936), available here, or El Financiero 10.09.20, available here, or Bibliografía 1/3 (1919), available here Melchor was first educated in the Mataró Piarist collegeABC 13.06.65, available here and then in Instituto de Barcelona.R.S.H., Historia del Tradicionalismo Español de Melchor Ferrer Dalmau, [in:] Revista de Historia Militar 55 (1983), p. 162 Like his siblings he trained to become an engineer and received technical education at Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales y Textiles in the nearby Terrassa.José M. Mundet Gifre, El carlismo y su historia, [in:] La Vanguardia 03.01.80, available here It is not clear if he graduated, yet Melchor has never pursued a related career; in 1910 he commenced co-operation with Catalan journals. In 1920 he married Paquita Rubio García; nothing is known about her except that she came from a military family.La Época 08.01.20, available here, also El Globo 14.01.20, available here The couple remained childess, yet Melchor and his sister-in-lawstrictly speaking the sister of his sister-in-law; Melchor's older brother Augusto was married to Ana Bonet Basangé; Elvira was her sister Elvira Bonet had one son, Xavier Ferrer Bonet, a later Partido Carlista acitivist and writer.Josep Miralles Climent, Los heterodoxos de la causa, Madrid 2001, , pp. 21, 132. Similar claim in Xavier Ferrer Bonet entry, [in:] El Corte Inglés service, available here Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau Nieto, a well-known painter specializing in historical military themes, is the great-grandson of Melchor's brother.Fe, un romántico homenaje juvenil del Pintor de Batallas al Tradicionalismo, [in:] Ahora Información service 13.02.17, available here
Restoration
With his father a Carlist combatant and older brothers engaged in Carlist activities, Melchor followed suit in his youth. During academic years he joined the Barcelona section of Juventud Tradicionalista. From the onset he demonstrated interest in the realm of communication in general and newspapers in particular. Engaged in Sección de Prensa and becoming president of "sub-sección de ventas" he supported sales of Traditionalist papers beyond usual distribution channels;La Bandera Regional 19.02.10, available here he was also member of Junta Directiva of Sección de Propaganda.La Bandera Regional 10.12.10. available here, La Defensa 26.02.11, available here First contributing minor pieces to youth and party bulletins, in 1910 he formally entered the editorial board of El Correo Catalán,El Norte 06.12.10, available here an established Barcelona-based daily and a regional Carlist mouthpiece. It is not clear what his work consisted of and whether the young Ferrer published pieces of his own;El Correo Catalán is not digitalised yet and its issues are not available for consultation online he kept working for Correo until 1914.La Cruz 08.03.19, available here
Though Ferrer delivered lectures at meetings of Carlist paramilitary organisation requetéDiario de Valencia 26.02.14, available here he had no military experience himself when in 1914, heavily influenced by Maurras and admirer of L'Action Française, he decided to join the French army and fight the Germans. The Republican press ridiculed him as a future field marshal,El Pueblo 08.11.14, available here though with no news of his whereabouts Ferrer was first feared dead in combat.La Correspondencia de Valencia 10.12.14, available here In fact things turned out oddly, yet the entire episode is far from clear. According to contemporary press the pro-German stand of Correodue to its perceived pro-German stand El Correo Catalán was not allowed to be distributed in France, El Correo Español 16.01.15, available here combined with anonymous denunciationanonymous denunciation was attributed to Esteban Roldán Oliart. Roldán defended himself in a separate piece, compare Esteban Roldan, Francia y los católicos españoles, Barcelona 1915, pp. 101–103, available here. Ferrer himself publicly remained silent on his (former?) friend; he noted merely that in 1920 Roldan moved to America, see his Historia del tradicionalismo español vol. XXIX, Seville 1960, p. 76 cost Ferrer arrest; presumed to be a spy, he was court-martialled in Lyon but spared a sentence ending up in Légion étrangère,El Norte 13.01.15, available here the fate he accepted with resignation as result of his idealistic and perhaps childish "chiquillada".El Correo Español 10.01.15, available here Other accounts either deny the arrest episode or simply claim that Ferrer volunteered to the legion.El Correo Español 16.01.15, available here, Rafael Gambra, Melchor Ferrer y la "Historia del tardicionalismo [sic!] español", Sevilla 1979, p. 3 [start page assumed as page 1, no original pagination] This way or another, Ferrer served in the Foreign Legion in ChampagneEspaña 20.03.19, available here and grew to NCOMundet Gifre 1980, Gambra 1979, p. 3 before being released in 1918.
In late 1918 and early 1919 Ferrer spent some time in Paris; it is there he entered the entourage of the Carlist pretender Don Jaime.El Correo Español 08.03.19, available here The two found common ground, not unlikely given their shared francophilia. As a result, upon his return to Spain in the spring Ferrer was nominated director político of El Correo Español,in May, see El Correo Español 02.05.19, available here, or in April, see La Correspondencia de España 12.04.19, available here the Madrid daily serving as national Carlist mouthpiece; his task was to ensure loyalty of the newspaper, so far controlled by the dissenting Mellista faction.El Correo Español 23.09.19, available here As he was largely unknown beyond Catalonia"hasta entonces desconocido en las filas carlistas", Roman Oyarzun, Historia del carlismo, Madrid 1979, p. 497 some Carlist heavyweights suspected dirty tricks on part of Don Jaime's secretary Melgar and asked for confirmation, which finally permitted Ferrer to assume his post.Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXIX, Sevilla 1960, p. 114 His mission proved successful; though Mellista defection decimated Carlist ranks, Correo maintained loyalty to the claimant. Ferrer remained in close touch with his king; he used to travel to Paris for consultationsLa Correspondencia de España 25.05.19, available here and in late 1919 took part in the massive gathering known as Magna Junta de Biarritz,La Correspondencia de España 12.12.19, available here where he represented Castilla La Nueva.Juan María Roma (ed.), Álbum histórico del carlismo, Barcelona 1935, p. 285 He also toured Spain, trying to save what was left of the crumbling Carlist organisation.El Correo Español 21.10.19, available here, also El Correo Español 21.12.19, available here Ferrer's term in Correo lasted until mid-1920; it is not clear why he left the daily.in May 1920 Arsenio de Izaga became the new jefe of El Correo Español, El Correo Español 27.05.20, available here
Dictatorship, Republic and War