The Osborne Bull

Toro de Osborne

29 Nov 2013 | From Dani of Spain

FACEBOOK SWAP (1 of 4 postcards)

The Osborne bull (in Spanish: Toro de Osborne) is a 14-metre (46 ft) high black silhouetted image of a bull in semi-profile, and is regarded as the unofficial national symbol of Spain. The bull was created in 1956 by Manolo Prieto. Nowadays the conservation of the bulls is handled by the family of Félix Tejada.

Despite common belief, this bull is not a symbol of Spain, but the advertising logo used to promote a brandy-sherry by a group of wineries called “Osborne”. The Osborne group began in 1772, and with more than 200 years of experience it is considered one of the oldest businesses in the world that still remains active today (94th place), and is the second oldest in Spain.

It was founded by Thomas Osborne Mann, an English shopkeeper from Exeter who settled in Cadíz. In the Puerto de San María he struck up friendships with other winery owners who originated from Britain and married the daughter of one of the managers of “Duffy Gordon”, with whom he had five children, the first Osbornes.