Presentation
Abanicos Raser began in 1981, in the locality of the Bº del cristo (quart de poblet) VALENCIA, with the aim of manufacturing some models of fans that would cover all kinds of tastes and qualities that would adapt to the current times of so varied tastes.
Our idea of quality has led us to use the best possible materials for its production, such as:
– Noble woods (pear, cherry, birch, birch…) mother-of-pearl, rosewood, lacquered, bobinga, etc.
– 1st quality cotton fabrics
– Manual sawing and die cutting
– Modern and innovative anchoring without forgetting the classic colours.
– Painting of the fan, in which we look for the right contrast with the fan’s anchoring, seeking a modern and up-to-date product.
With all these materials we try to make our fans the ideal complement for the consumer.
Manufacturing
The process of making the fan begins with the choice of the desired wood, taking into account the type of paint to be used, and then it is cut by master craftsmen called fretworkers who, using a hand saw or a die, will shape the rods.
We then moved on to anchoring and weaving, where we always try to be original and in keeping with the times, without forgetting the traditional colours.
Later we would come to the painting of the fan, where our professionals create original and exclusive designs every year, as our painters are part of the RASER family.
And finally we would pass to the fan overhaul where the fan is air-conditioned, the pins are changed and the final product is checked to ensure it is in perfect condition.
History
The fan, as we know it today, is an instrument, generally semicircular in shape, used to give or receive air. But the origin of this common utensil is uncertain and is lost in the mists of time. However, it would be safe to say that we should look for it in prehistoric times, when man discovered fire and could only resort to two means to stoke the embers: blowing or stirring the air with any object in the form of a fan.
What we do know for sure is that fans were used by Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, as these peoples left abundant reproductions of this instrument in their artistic representations.
The Greeks and Romans used fans, as evidenced by literary quotations from various classical authors. Thus, e.g. Euripides in his tragedy Helen tells of a eunuch who fans the wife of Malealus while she sleeps, so that insects do not disturb her sleep.
In the West, during the Middle Ages, the fan became part of the Christian liturgy, being used in the consecration to protect the Eucharist from insects and to refresh the celebrant.
The fan was also known to the Incas and Aztecs, for among Montezuma’s gifts to Hernán Cortés were six feather fans.
In Spain, the first references to the fan appear, according to Mª Teresa Ruíz Alcón, in the Chronicle of Pedro IV of Aragon (14th century) in which it is mentioned as an office of the nobles who accompanied the king, “the one who carries the fan”. It should be noted that these fans were rigid and rounded in shape, generally using palm, straw, silk and peacock feathers as materials.
From the middle of the 17th century, the fan was already a fashionable object, and its use became widespread among women from all walks of life in the following century. At this time, it has become an essential feminine accessory, being used, in addition to its original function, to hide or show emotions.
THE FAN IN SPAIN
After the appearance of the folding fan in Spain in the 16th century, the first manufacturers soon began to appear, but their names are unknown.
In the 18th century there are records of several fan makers in Madrid, but during this period Valencia became a consolidated centre of production, where there seems to have been a guild of fan makers.
Under the reign of Philip V, imports of fans from France, Italy, Holland and England increased, perhaps due to the great demand for this utensil.
In 1802 there was already a Royal Fan Factory in Valencia, making this community stand out in Europe in the fan industry.
But the great architect of the 19th century was José Colomina, an industrialist from Alicante who revolutionised the production of fans. In 1851, Casa de Diego began to operate in Madrid, a factory that is still in operation today as a shop in Puerta del Sol.
In the 20th century, the production of Valencian fans experienced a great boom until the civil war, and after the war a process of recovery began with centres in Valencia, Godella and Aldaya which, in 1983, had a total of forty factories.