Skip to Main Content

Latin America and the Caribbean: Resources available in the Special Collections Research Center

This guide provides an overview of material in the Special Collections Research Center in the Earl Gregg Swem Library related to Latin America & the Caribbean.

Cuba Manuscript Sources in the Special Collections Research Center

Travel

Helen Mantel Diary -- Diary, 1959, of Helen Mantel of Brooklyn, New York. Includes her daily activities, people with which she meets, and places that they go. It also includes information about a trip to Cuba taken in June and July of 1959, months after Fidel Castro had overthrown Fulgencio Batista. It seems as though Mantel's grandmother lived in Cuba and they took the trip because she was sick. She mentions visiting Batista's house, meeting with his daughter, and the fact that her mother saw someone described as "Castro's right hand."

Edith M. Clayes Travel Diary -- Travel diary of Edith M. Clayes of a voyage  from California to Washington, D.C.  Clayes visited, among other places, the Panama Canal;  Havana, Cuba; Key West, St. Augustine and Miami, Florida; Richmond, Virginia; and the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland areas. She writes about her personal experiences as well as the history of the places visited. The cover of the diary is made of wood board with a leather spine.  The cover is attached with hob nails, is gilded in places and has a picture of Madonna of the Gauduca by "Raphael" Florence.

Diary (Cuba) -- Diary, 1929, of the trip of an unamed person from New York to Cuba and then back through the eastern United States. Includes descriptions of Havana, automobile rides through the mountains of Cuba, and stays at hotels in Cuba. It also includes descriptions of the trip through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Deleware.

Diary (New Orleans, La.) -- Diary of a sailor or merchant seaman for the year 1921. In brief entries that cover most of the year 1921, the author notes his different employments. Starting out from and returning several times to New Orleans, La., he stopped (among other places) in Cuba, the Bahamas, the Virgina Islands, Brazil and New York City. He also makes notes on money borrowed.

Miscellaneous

John Womack Wright Papers, 1699-1918 -- Printed maps, 1699-1918, collected by Col. John Womack Wright pertaining to his interest in military events in Europe chiefly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Includes a manuscript copy of a letter from the King of Spain to the Governor Captain General in Cuba to end the practice of Cubans receiving education in America. Copy prepared by Sec. Dom Betancourt.  Translation included.

John Womack Wright Papers, 1898 -- This collection contains 68 buttons, 2 belt buckles, and 2 cockades taken from Spanish prisoners of war or from sunken ships off of Cuba. It also contains a commemorative medal from the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

Nathaniel Beverley Tucker Papers -- Comprised mostly of letters to, from, and about Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1820-1890), a Virginian journalist and diplomat, his son Beverley Dandridge Tucker (1846-1930), a bishop, and their friends and family dating between 1830 and 1903. Includes Beverley Tucker Letters, 1861-1863, written from Havana, Cuba, Paris, and London.  1861-1863.

Racial Ethnic Ephemera Collection -- The Racial and Ethnic Ephemera Collection includes a variety of material in various formats. The collection is currently being processed and new items will be added on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the indicated date range is approximate at this point. Includes racist postcards of a Cuban Wet Nurse, Watermelon Jake, and others. Includes Cuban Poetry Festival Poster, 2011. Includes two books of Cuban stamps.

Cuban Film Poster Collection -- Posters, from 1962 to 2010, of feature films, documentaries, animated films, film events, and others that were produced in Cuba by Cuban artists. Posters were primarily created by using a silk screen process and were made for both Cuban and non-Cuban films.

Tobacco Label Collection -- Five labels advertising the following tobaccos; Kinnikinique, Westward Ho!, Union Pacific, Island of Cuba, and James River Lynchburg.

Baltimore Woman's Committee for Cuban Freedom -- This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, and other material from the Baltimore Woman's Committee in Baltimore, Maryland (sometimes referred to as the Baltimore Women's Committee for Cuban Freedom). The collection includes a scrapbook, articles that mention the Committee or any members, photographs, press releases, and correspondence with newsmen and politicians.