[Cuba]:ABAA
2 545 résultats
1813réf. 46892Havana. Sept. 20 1813. Early Havana Imprint A rare printed decree from Cuba at the beginning of the 19th century as Spanish power in the world was waning but Spain's grip on Cuba was still quite firm. This decree issued by the King on June 14 1813 and printed on September 20 announces new laws regarding the rights to vote and to be elected to hold government positions for professors and scholars from certain universities collegiums and seminars. The decree forbade these rights to the Knights of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem as well as members of the four military orders of Santiago Calatrava Alcantara and Montesa. It is endorsed in manuscript with the imprint and header also written in by hand. Early Caribbean imprints are rare. Folio. Old fold lines. Moderately chipped and worn at edges. Lightly and evenly toned. Contemporary manuscript notations. Good. unknown books
1813réf. 46891Havana. Sept. 20 1813. Amnesty to Curry Favor A rare Havana imprint. As Spanish power in the New World was waning its grip on Cuba was threatened by domestic and foreign intruders. This decree issued by the Council of Regents "Cortes" standing in for Fernando VII on June 17 1813 and printed on September 20 orders the annulment of all criminal cases. This amnesty policy extended to other areas of New Spain as well sought to placate opposition forces. It calls on all levels of government to announce and enforce the decree. It is endorsed in manuscript. Folio. Old fold lines. Moderately chipped and worn at edges. Evenly toned. Contemporary manuscript notations. Good. unknown books
réf. 12844Various locations in Cuba and Pennsylvania: contents ca 1973. 25 leaves totaling 40pp. illustrated with thirty black-and-white and sepia-toned photographs with detailed manuscript captions plus seven large clippings from school publications and six additional ephemeral items. Oblong folio. Black cloth with alligator-patterned cloth on front board with manuscript title below a drawn representation of a small pennant for Lehigh University. Covers worn frayed and chipped alligator-style cloth curling a bit along fore edge. A few items loose from adhesive and a few with small tears scattered spotting and soiling. Overall very good condition with fascinating materiality. A lovingly-compiled photograph album and memorial book created by a young woman named Magdalena Sofia Guitart in tribute to her godfather Rafael Genó a Cuban engineer who studied at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Juan Rafael Genó Rizo was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1883. A doctoral thesis on Cuban architecture found online deems him one of the premiere Art Deco architects of Santiago and the only one to obtain a degree abroad. Genó graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh in 1909 and from the University of Havana in 1913. He died in Miami Florida in 1973. This doting scrapbook was compiled and heavily captioned in Spanish which we hereafter present in translation as a "Memorial which with love and pride I dedicate to my godfather and some of his works; a pale reflection of all the good he has done in his life" by Magdalena Sofia Guitart who was born in 1936 in Santiago and arrived in Miami in 1958. She includes photos of Genó as a baby and a boy of 11 "From a very young age as you can see here my godfather was a little gentleman" as well as in uniform alongside Mexican and Costa Rican comrades at Pennsylvania's Wayne Field. She lauds his "triumphs" and "genius" in "thousands of battles." Genó likely came to the United States following the Spanish-American War during the growth of Cuban immigration resulting from increased American attention of the island country. All of the content in the album is artfully presented within decorative rules or floral borders providing an unusual flair to the presentation. The book displays not only the hand-drawn Lehigh pennant on the cover but also large artistic renditions of the campus and an internal shot of its library clipped from school publications and comparing views from 1873 1909 and 1933 the relevance of Lehigh at the later date is unclear. Additional photographs and decorative designs share the story as "our engineer" returns to Cuba and "begins to demonstrate his knowledge" in the mines of Ponupo. Soon "his hard work integrity and honesty led him to be chosen" for other feats of engineering including "la Iglesia church Los Desamparados constructed by my godfather 1932" and a train terminal in Guantánamo. Images and a photographic clipping laud his renovations of "Colegio La Salle" in 1937. There are also six photos and a clipping showing Genó's work on the altar for the Eucharistic Congress held in Santiago in 1936 during which the original statue of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Patroness of Cuba was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Pius XI. The album also holds a clipping naming Genó as president of the Board of Directors of Santiago's Urban Property Center an inauguration ribbon and brochure for the Municipal Food Market in 1950 with which he was also involved and photos of the celebrated engineer later in life. A captivating and carefully-assembled homage created by a Cuban immigrant to the United States honoring a loved one who was educated in Pennsylvania and then returned to his home country to serve as a noted engineer during the first half of the 20th century. contents ca unknown
réf. 12844Various locations in Cuba and Pennsylvania: contents ca 1973. 25 leaves totaling 40pp. illustrated with thirty black-and-white and sepia-toned photographs with detailed manuscript captions plus seven large clippings from school publications and six additional ephemeral items. Oblong folio. Black cloth with alligator-patterned cloth on front board with manuscript title below a drawn representation of a small pennant for Lehigh University. Covers worn frayed and chipped alligator-style cloth curling a bit along fore edge. A few items loose from adhesive and a few with small tears scattered spotting and soiling. Overall very good condition with fascinating materiality. A lovingly-compiled photograph album and memorial book created by a young woman named Magdalena Sofia Guitart in tribute to her godfather Rafael Genó a Cuban engineer who studied at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Juan Rafael Genó Rizo was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1883. A doctoral thesis on Cuban architecture found online deems him one of the premiere Art Deco architects of Santiago and the only one to obtain a degree abroad. Genó graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh in 1909 and from the University of Havana in 1913. He died in Miami Florida in 1973. This doting scrapbook was compiled and heavily captioned in Spanish which we hereafter present in translation as a "Memorial which with love and pride I dedicate to my godfather and some of his works; a pale reflection of all the good he has done in his life" by Magdalena Sofia Guitart who was born in 1936 in Santiago and arrived in Miami in 1958. She includes photos of Genó as a baby and a boy of 11 "From a very young age as you can see here my godfather was a little gentleman" as well as in uniform alongside Mexican and Costa Rican comrades at Pennsylvania's Wayne Field. She lauds his "triumphs" and "genius" in "thousands of battles." Genó likely came to the United States following the Spanish-American War during the growth of Cuban immigration resulting from increased American attention of the island country. All of the content in the album is artfully presented within decorative rules or floral borders providing an unusual flair to the presentation. The book displays not only the hand-drawn Lehigh pennant on the cover but also large artistic renditions of the campus and an internal shot of its library clipped from school publications and comparing views from 1873 1909 and 1933 the relevance of Lehigh at the later date is unclear. Additional photographs and decorative designs share the story as "our engineer" returns to Cuba and "begins to demonstrate his knowledge" in the mines of Ponupo. Soon "his hard work integrity and honesty led him to be chosen" for other feats of engineering including "la Iglesia church Los Desamparados constructed by my godfather 1932" and a train terminal in Guantánamo. Images and a photographic clipping laud his renovations of "Colegio La Salle" in 1937. There are also six photos and a clipping showing Genó's work on the altar for the Eucharistic Congress held in Santiago in 1936 during which the original statue of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Patroness of Cuba was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Pius XI. The album also holds a clipping naming Genó as president of the Board of Directors of Santiago's Urban Property Center an inauguration ribbon and brochure for the Municipal Food Market in 1950 with which he was also involved and photos of the celebrated engineer later in life. A captivating and carefully-assembled homage created by a Cuban immigrant to the United States honoring a loved one who was educated in Pennsylvania and then returned to his home country to serve as a noted engineer during the first half of the 20th century. contents ca unknown books
1870réf. 231221870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial slave sale manuscript recording the transfer of four enslaved individuals in Cuba in 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The document records the sale of four enslaved people described as "criollos" and African-born individuals situating the transaction within a labor system that combined locally born and imported enslaved populations. Created at a time when Spain had formally restricted the transatlantic slave trade but continued to permit slavery itself the manuscript demonstrates the persistence of legalized human commodification and the integration of enslaved labor into the island's economic structure sixteen years prior to abolition in 1886. Official Cuban slave contract documenting the sale of four enslaved individuals to Don Pedro Catasús by Don Enfemia Ochoa for the sum of 1100 pesos on November 29 1870. Single manuscript leaf written in Spanish cursive in black ink measuring 8.25" x 12". A green "50 cs de escudo" revenue stamp is affixed at the top center with a blind embossed Spanish crest at the upper left and a circular black ink government seal impressed at the lower left. Large vertical docketing appears on the verso. A stylized watermark is visible within the paper. The text organizes the enslaved individuals within a standardized transactional structure while the signatures of Enfemia Ochoa Pedro Catasús and A. Díaz de Rada authenticate the exchange and identify participants within the slaveholding economy. By 1870 Cuba remained a central node in the late Atlantic slave system with plantation agriculture especially sugar dependent on enslaved labor despite mounting abolitionist pressure. Although Spain had curtailed official slave imports earlier in the century illegal trafficking persisted into the 1860s and other coerced labor systems including the importation of Chinese indentured workers overlapped with slavery into the 1870s. The presence of both Creole and African individuals in this document reflects the layered composition of the enslaved population during this period. Light toning scattered foxing and edge wear visible. A closed wormhole extends from the upper right margin approximately five inches into the sheet resulting in partial loss of text. Evidence of prior tape reinforcement visible on the verso along with offsetting from previously adjacent material. Overall in very good condition. This document provides named transactional evidence of late-period slavery in Cuba offering concrete material for examining race labor and legal practice within Spanish colonial society. unknown
1870réf. 231191870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial manuscript documenting the late persistence of slavery in Cuba recording the sale of five enslaved Creole individuals including women and children 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The presence of multiple children within the transaction underscores the hereditary nature of enslavement and the commodification of family units offering direct material evidence of how slavery functioned socially and economically in its final decades on the island. Although Spain had formally ended the transatlantic slave trade earlier in the century illegal trafficking and internal slave markets persisted and slavery itself would not be abolished in Cuba until 1886 placing this document within a crucial transitional period marked by reform debates gradual emancipation laws and continued exploitation. Official Cuban slave contract recording the sale of five enslaved individuals identified as "criollos" including one adult woman and four children from Santiago Simón Fambi to Don Pedro Catasús for the sum of 1200 pesos on November 21 1870. Single page manuscript leaf measuring 8.25" x 12". The manuscript is written in Spanish cursive hand in black ink. The upper left bears a blind embossed crest of Spain while a circular black ink government seal is impressed at the lower left partially overlapping the text. The text enumerates the enslaved individuals with ages and names embedding human lives within the formulaic language of sale and valuation while the bold signatures of both seller Santiago Simón Fambi and buyer Pedro Catasús anchor the transaction in identifiable actors within the colonial economy. By 1870 slavery in Spanish Cuba remained central to the island's plantation economy particularly in sugar production which had expanded rapidly in the mid-19th century with industrialized mills and global demand. Enslaved people were primarily forced into agricultural labor under highly regimented and brutal conditions though others were used in urban domestic service skilled trades or as hired laborers generating income for their owners. This document exhibits light toning edge wear and scattered foxing throughout. A closed wormhole extends approximately two inches from the upper right margin inward not affecting legibility of the text. Minor losses and small tears along the edges. Overall in very good condition. Given that this document records a woman and four children the family was likely intended for a combination of field labor and domestic or auxiliary work with the children gradually incorporated into plantation labor as they aged reflecting the system's reliance on both immediate exploitation and the reproduction of enslaved labor over time. unknown
1870réf. 231221870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial slave sale manuscript recording the transfer of four enslaved individuals in Cuba in 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The document records the sale of four enslaved people described as "criollos" and African-born individuals situating the transaction within a labor system that combined locally born and imported enslaved populations. Created at a time when Spain had formally restricted the transatlantic slave trade but continued to permit slavery itself the manuscript demonstrates the persistence of legalized human commodification and the integration of enslaved labor into the island's economic structure sixteen years prior to abolition in 1886. Official Cuban slave contract documenting the sale of four enslaved individuals to Don Pedro Catasús by Don Enfemia Ochoa for the sum of 1100 pesos on November 29 1870. Single manuscript leaf written in Spanish cursive in black ink measuring 8.25" x 12". A green "50 cs de escudo" revenue stamp is affixed at the top center with a blind embossed Spanish crest at the upper left and a circular black ink government seal impressed at the lower left. Large vertical docketing appears on the verso. A stylized watermark is visible within the paper. The text organizes the enslaved individuals within a standardized transactional structure while the signatures of Enfemia Ochoa Pedro Catasús and A. Díaz de Rada authenticate the exchange and identify participants within the slaveholding economy. By 1870 Cuba remained a central node in the late Atlantic slave system with plantation agriculture especially sugar dependent on enslaved labor despite mounting abolitionist pressure. Although Spain had curtailed official slave imports earlier in the century illegal trafficking persisted into the 1860s and other coerced labor systems including the importation of Chinese indentured workers overlapped with slavery into the 1870s. The presence of both Creole and African individuals in this document reflects the layered composition of the enslaved population during this period. Light toning scattered foxing and edge wear visible. A closed wormhole extends from the upper right margin approximately five inches into the sheet resulting in partial loss of text. Evidence of prior tape reinforcement visible on the verso along with offsetting from previously adjacent material. Overall in very good condition. This document provides named transactional evidence of late-period slavery in Cuba offering concrete material for examining race labor and legal practice within Spanish colonial society. unknown books
1870réf. 231191870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial manuscript documenting the late persistence of slavery in Cuba recording the sale of five enslaved Creole individuals including women and children 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The presence of multiple children within the transaction underscores the hereditary nature of enslavement and the commodification of family units offering direct material evidence of how slavery functioned socially and economically in its final decades on the island. Although Spain had formally ended the transatlantic slave trade earlier in the century illegal trafficking and internal slave markets persisted and slavery itself would not be abolished in Cuba until 1886 placing this document within a crucial transitional period marked by reform debates gradual emancipation laws and continued exploitation. Official Cuban slave contract recording the sale of five enslaved individuals identified as "criollos" including one adult woman and four children from Santiago Simón Fambi to Don Pedro Catasús for the sum of 1200 pesos on November 21 1870. Single page manuscript leaf measuring 8.25" x 12". The manuscript is written in Spanish cursive hand in black ink. The upper left bears a blind embossed crest of Spain while a circular black ink government seal is impressed at the lower left partially overlapping the text. The text enumerates the enslaved individuals with ages and names embedding human lives within the formulaic language of sale and valuation while the bold signatures of both seller Santiago Simón Fambi and buyer Pedro Catasús anchor the transaction in identifiable actors within the colonial economy. By 1870 slavery in Spanish Cuba remained central to the island's plantation economy particularly in sugar production which had expanded rapidly in the mid-19th century with industrialized mills and global demand. Enslaved people were primarily forced into agricultural labor under highly regimented and brutal conditions though others were used in urban domestic service skilled trades or as hired laborers generating income for their owners. This document exhibits light toning edge wear and scattered foxing throughout. A closed wormhole extends approximately two inches from the upper right margin inward not affecting legibility of the text. Minor losses and small tears along the edges. Overall in very good condition. Given that this document records a woman and four children the family was likely intended for a combination of field labor and domestic or auxiliary work with the children gradually incorporated into plantation labor as they aged reflecting the system's reliance on both immediate exploitation and the reproduction of enslaved labor over time. unknown books
1678In -4°, pp. (40), 146, (6), pergamena coeva, difetti al dorso. Prima edizione. Nato a Saragozza, l’autore insegnò a Napoli e Roma prima di partire per Cuba, dove avrebbe passato la vecchiaia. Il libro, interessante e curioso, si occupa di prostituzione e della sua accettabilità dottrinaria, argomento rispetto al quale l’autore è fortemente contrario. Lo scritto replica a un manoscritto (poi stampato a Catania, “Resolutio theologica moralis in qua occasione cuiusdam casus occurrentis afferitur et propugnatur, licite permitti posse Meretrices”, 1677) del francescano Giovanni dell’Olmo, che difendeva il diritto delle prostitute a entrare nelle dimore nobiliari napoletane. La polemica svela molto sui costumi del sesso a pagamento all’epoca. Born in Saragoza, the author was a professor in Naples and Rome before leaving to Cuba. This curious book deals with prostitution and its doctrinaire acceptability (that the author is strongly against to). This work replies to a manuscript (then printed in Catania, “Resolutio theologica moralis in qua occasione… licite permitti posse meretrices”, 1677) of a franciscan preacher, Giovanni dell’Olmo, who supports permission to prostitutes to enter in neapolitan noble palaces. This controversy reveals many facts about prostitution at time.
1676réf. P2-5A-3Paris : Gervais Clouzier, 1676. 4 parties en deux volumes, 8° (160 x 100 mm) , plein veau époque, dos à nerfs ornés avec titre et tomaison , différence de reliure, 13ffnch.-246pp-2ffnch et 4ffnch.240pp. , 4ffnch.-297pp.-2ffnch. Et 4ffnch.-153pp.-2ffnch. , coins et coupes usés , reliure solide , mouillure sur quelques feuillets (t3-4).
1863réf. 6222Havana 1863. Good. Two partially printed broadsheets completed in manuscript 13 x 9 inches. Old folds wear at edges; some light worming slightly affecting text. Lightly soiled. A pair of documents recording the indenture of a Chinese national in Havana. The present documents contract the "Asiatico Francisco" as a cook to Don Jose Antonio Battle y Olle; the contract is dated June 28 1861 and is signed by "Francisco" in Chinese characters for a term of two years. At the end it is noted in manuscript that the Asiatico Francisco has completed the two years of his contract. The cedula is dated 1863 and indicates that Francisco is 33 years of age and now indentured for eight years as a "cocinero." An interesting pair of documents showing the continuing servitude of imported Chinese laborers particularly attractive for being signed in Chinese characters. unknown
1863réf. 6222Havana 1863. Good. Two partially printed broadsheets completed in manuscript 13 x 9 inches. Old folds wear at edges; some light worming slightly affecting text. Lightly soiled. A pair of documents recording the indenture of a Chinese national in Havana. The present documents contract the "Asiatico Francisco" as a cook to Don Jose Antonio Battle y Olle; the contract is dated June 28 1861 and is signed by "Francisco" in Chinese characters for a term of two years. At the end it is noted in manuscript that the Asiatico Francisco has completed the two years of his contract. The cedula is dated 1863 and indicates that Francisco is 33 years of age and now indentured for eight years as a "cocinero." An interesting pair of documents showing the continuing servitude of imported Chinese laborers particularly attractive for being signed in Chinese characters. unknown books
1854réf. 46994Havana. 1854. A Bullfighting Broadside from Cuba in 1854 Cuban broadside advertising a bullfight featuring matador Don Manuel Rodriguez Lanza and the "8 toros de muerte." The top of the sheet features a woodcut of a matador holding his cape out to a bull. The first swordsman for the fight is Manuel Diaz Lavi with two alternates listed. The names of the Banderilleros and Picadores for the fight are also noted. Bullfighting was a popular entertainment in Cuba during the Spanish colonial period though it was done away with after Cuban independence at the beginning of the 20th century. Broadside 12½ × 8 inches. Printed on green paper. Old fold lines. Light wear and soiling minor separation at some folds. A few contemporary notations. Very good. unknown
1854réf. 46994Havana. 1854. A Bullfighting Broadside from Cuba in 1854 Cuban broadside advertising a bullfight featuring matador Don Manuel Rodriguez Lanza and the "8 toros de muerte." The top of the sheet features a woodcut of a matador holding his cape out to a bull. The first swordsman for the fight is Manuel Diaz Lavi with two alternates listed. The names of the Banderilleros and Picadores for the fight are also noted. Bullfighting was a popular entertainment in Cuba during the Spanish colonial period though it was done away with after Cuban independence at the beginning of the 20th century. Broadside 12½ × 8 inches. Printed on green paper. Old fold lines. Light wear and soiling minor separation at some folds. A few contemporary notations. Very good. unknown books
1850réf. 230131Um 1850. In der Platte bezeichnet. 27 x 39,8 cm (Darstellung) 39 x 49 cm (Papier).
1823réf. BK0184Middletown Rhode Island 1823. Autograph letter signed three pages on a folded sheet with integral address panel to Charles E. Dudley in Albany and Newport postal markings. 7 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches. Old folds scattered staining and some marginal losses a few affecting text. Good to very good. A letter from Newport mariner John Wood concerning his acrimonious departure from the DeWolf family's Mary Ann plantation in Cuba and the ensuing legal dispute with James DeWolf and Charles Collins. Wood was almost certainly the same John Wood whose signature appears on an 1806 Newport agreement for an illegal voyage transporting enslaved Africans from Cape Coast to Havana now held by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.1 By 1823 he was residing on the Mary Ann plantation one of several Cuban estates belonging to the DeWolfs among the most prominent families involved in the American slave trade. His relationship with DeWolf and Collins had evidently collapsed over his obligations on the estate resulting in what he describes as his forced departure from Cuba under apparently dangerous conditions with his family and a contentious effort to settle their accounts. Writing to his friend Charles E. Dudley then mayor of Albany and a New York state senator Wood reports that three mechanics who had resided with him on the plantation had recently given depositions in Bristol Rhode Island. Two of the three had testified in his favor though all had been called by DeWolf. Wood was particularly incensed by the circumstances surrounding his family's departure from Cuba writing: "I must acknowledge that myself & family have been most shamefully abused & for no provocation we were set adrift liable to be murdered & robbed on Shore My Wife & Daughter exposed at Sea to be captured By pirates and in case of Capture to suffer more than Death; Not content in what they have done but still persevere in wishing to rob me of all I possess a Respectable Character. The assassin will stab you in the dark but the Wretch who will traduce and injure an Innocent family is worse than an assassin." Wood goes on to describe receiving two writs from DeWolf and Collins and transcribes an August 8 letter from James DeWolf explaining his decision to pursue legal action despite their previous discussions of an amicable settlement: "Lest you should think me inconsistent in causing an action to be brought after the last conversation we had I take leave to explain my wishes to come to an amicable settlement by referring to men as we talked remains the same my object is to put the business in a legal and proper train for bringing it to a close . & to enable me to avail of the testimony of the people who were on the Estate with you." Wood expected the Rhode Island Supreme Court meeting at Bristol the following month to appoint referees to settle the accounts. The precise origin of the disagreement is not stated though the depositions of the mechanics and the references to outstanding accounts suggest a dispute over Wood's contractual obligations or activities on the plantation. Wood 1770-1826 was a Newport merchant and captain with longstanding connections to Atlantic commerce. He died at Cape Coast West Africa in 1826 three years after writing the present letter. James DeWolf 1764-1837 then serving in the United States Senate had amassed a substantial fortune through the slave trade and his Cuban plantation interests. Charles Collins his brother-in-law had served as collector of customs at Bristol from 1804 to 1820 an appointment closely connected to the family's slave-trading operations. The Mary Ann plantation is documented in the DeWolf Papers at the Rhode Island Historical Society which include inventories from 1818 and 1820 and contemporary plans of the plantation grounds. The present letter preserves Wood's account of his treatment by the DeWolf family together with his transcription of DeWolf's explanation for pursuing legal action. 1 "Agreement facilitating illegal trade of enslaved Africans" National Museum of African American History & Culture accessed October 12 2026 https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2019.28.1. . unknown
1823réf. BK0184Middletown Rhode Island 1823. Autograph letter signed three pages on a folded sheet with integral address panel to Charles E. Dudley in Albany and Newport postal markings. 7 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches. Old folds scattered staining and some marginal losses a few affecting text. Good to very good. A letter from Newport mariner John Wood concerning his acrimonious departure from the DeWolf family's Mary Ann plantation in Cuba and the ensuing legal dispute with James DeWolf and Charles Collins. Wood was almost certainly the same John Wood whose signature appears on an 1806 Newport agreement for an illegal voyage transporting enslaved Africans from Cape Coast to Havana now held by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.1 By 1823 he was residing on the Mary Ann plantation one of several Cuban estates belonging to the DeWolfs among the most prominent families involved in the American slave trade. His relationship with DeWolf and Collins had evidently collapsed over his obligations on the estate resulting in what he describes as his forced departure from Cuba under apparently dangerous conditions with his family and a contentious effort to settle their accounts. Writing to his friend Charles E. Dudley then mayor of Albany and a New York state senator Wood reports that three mechanics who had resided with him on the plantation had recently given depositions in Bristol Rhode Island. Two of the three had testified in his favor though all had been called by DeWolf. Wood was particularly incensed by the circumstances surrounding his family's departure from Cuba writing: "I must acknowledge that myself & family have been most shamefully abused & for no provocation we were set adrift liable to be murdered & robbed on Shore My Wife & Daughter exposed at Sea to be captured By pirates and in case of Capture to suffer more than Death; Not content in what they have done but still persevere in wishing to rob me of all I possess a Respectable Character. The assassin will stab you in the dark but the Wretch who will traduce and injure an Innocent family is worse than an assassin." Wood goes on to describe receiving two writs from DeWolf and Collins and transcribes an August 8 letter from James DeWolf explaining his decision to pursue legal action despite their previous discussions of an amicable settlement: "Lest you should think me inconsistent in causing an action to be brought after the last conversation we had I take leave to explain my wishes to come to an amicable settlement by referring to men as we talked remains the same my object is to put the business in a legal and proper train for bringing it to a close . & to enable me to avail of the testimony of the people who were on the Estate with you." Wood expected the Rhode Island Supreme Court meeting at Bristol the following month to appoint referees to settle the accounts. The precise origin of the disagreement is not stated though the depositions of the mechanics and the references to outstanding accounts suggest a dispute over Wood's contractual obligations or activities on the plantation. Wood 1770-1826 was a Newport merchant and captain with longstanding connections to Atlantic commerce. He died at Cape Coast West Africa in 1826 three years after writing the present letter. James DeWolf 1764-1837 then serving in the United States Senate had amassed a substantial fortune through the slave trade and his Cuban plantation interests. Charles Collins his brother-in-law had served as collector of customs at Bristol from 1804 to 1820 an appointment closely connected to the family's slave-trading operations. The Mary Ann plantation is documented in the DeWolf Papers at the Rhode Island Historical Society which include inventories from 1818 and 1820 and contemporary plans of the plantation grounds. The present letter preserves Wood's account of his treatment by the DeWolf family together with his transcription of DeWolf's explanation for pursuing legal action. 1 "Agreement facilitating illegal trade of enslaved Africans" National Museum of African American History & Culture accessed October 12 2026 https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2019.28.1. . unknown books
1931réf. 6190Havana 1931. Very good. 150pp. Stiff black cloth covers printed paper label on front board. Front cover vertically creased light wear to boards; remnants of glassine stuck to covers. Contemporary inscription on front flyleaf. Internally clean. In a custom clamshell box. First edition of the first Cuban cook book published in English. Blanche Zacharie de Baralt 1865-1950 was born in New York; she married Luis Alejandro Baralt y Peoli in 1886 and the couple moved to his native Cuba in 1900. She earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Havana in 1902 and went on to translate the poetry of Tagore and to write a book on Jose Marti. She also published this volume which was clearly geared toward the tourist market with the introduction emphasizing the idea of taking home the tastes of one's holiday abroad. Each chapter heading has an illustration and these were drawn by Federico Edelmann and Conrad W. Massaguer the one above the section for beans appears to show a cowboy riding along in a cloud of gas. Notably this work contains several important Cuban cocktails including the first appearance of the mojito referred to here as a Rum Cocktail or Cuban Mojo. Rare in the true first edition. unknown
1931réf. 6190Havana 1931. Very good. 150pp. Stiff black cloth covers printed paper label on front board. Front cover vertically creased light wear to boards; remnants of glassine stuck to covers. Contemporary inscription on front flyleaf. Internally clean. In a custom clamshell box. First edition of the first Cuban cook book published in English. Blanche Zacharie de Baralt 1865-1950 was born in New York; she married Luis Alejandro Baralt y Peoli in 1886 and the couple moved to his native Cuba in 1900. She earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Havana in 1902 and went on to translate the poetry of Tagore and to write a book on Jose Marti. She also published this volume which was clearly geared toward the tourist market with the introduction emphasizing the idea of taking home the tastes of one's holiday abroad. Each chapter heading has an illustration and these were drawn by Federico Edelmann and Conrad W. Massaguer the one above the section for beans appears to show a cowboy riding along in a cloud of gas. Notably this work contains several important Cuban cocktails including the first appearance of the mojito referred to here as a Rum Cocktail or Cuban Mojo. Rare in the true first edition. unknown books
réf. PD19Oblong Folio album ca. 285x36 cm. 49 black paper album leaves. With ca. 260 mounted gelatin silver photographs of various size including ca. 20 large photos from ca. 245x32 cm 9 ½ x 12 ½ in to ca. 155x225 cm 6 x 8 ¾ in and 21 panoramas ca. 85x29 cm 3 ¼ x 11 1 /2 in or slightly smaller. The rest of the photos are from ca. 12x17 cm 4 ¾ x 6 ¾ in to ca. 4x6 cm 1 ½ x 2 ¼ in; most photos are ca. 8x14 cm 3 ¼ x 5 ½ in. No captions. About twenty photos with period ink notes “D.K.M. 10” in the corners. Period style black half morocco with cloth boards; decorative gilt-tooled borders on both boards and spine. Album leaves brittle several with tears and losses on extremities two large photos with tears and losses on extremities two small photos with losses of one corner each one photo has been apparently previously removed a few photos smildly faded or with mild silvering but overall a very good album of interesting photos. Historically significant album with lively amateur snapshots and original studio photos taken and collected by a family of American tourists during a Caribbean cruise in the early 1910s onboard the steamship “Moltke” of the Hamburg America Line Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft or HAPAG. Launched in 1901 S.S. “Moltke” went on regular cruises around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean until it was seized by Italy in 1915 in the course of WW1. Her Caribbean or West Indies cruises departed from New York and included stops in Cuba Puerto Rico Jamaica Panama Canal Venezuela Trinidad Barbados Martinique St. Thomas Dutch West Indies Bermuda & Bahamas. The album opens with several large views and panoramas of Havana harbour and waterfront featuring Castillo del Morro the iconic building of Lonja del Comercio commodities and stock exchange and S.S. “Moltke.” The other photos show Havana streets and passers-by the interior of a Catholic church &c. Over twenty photos are the views of the city and harbour of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas Island – then the capital of the Danish West Indies since 1917 the U.S. Virgin Islands. The images show the city harbour from the distance and close-up a sign of “St. Thomas Bay & Rum Co.” is seen on one of the photos the statue of King Christian IX erected in the Emancipation Garden in 1909 removed in 2021 streets residential neighbourhoods on sloping hills a local market an official residence with the waving Danish flag garden of a Catholic convent with one of the monks posing alone and with a young tourist &c. Over thirty identified views of Puerto Rico a U.S. colony since 1898 a Commonwealth controlled by the U.S. since 1952 show San Juan: Plaza de Armas with the City Hall completed in 1842 Palacio de la Real Independencia now housing the Department of State of Puerto Rico Castillo San Felipe del Morro in the San Juan Bay Plaza Colon with Christopher Columbus monument San Juan harbour city streets and shops building of the “Hotel y Banos” a passenger train with the travellers walking at the front native cart drivers passers-by &c. A large group of photos ca. sixty depict the French Island of Martinique with a series of views of Fort-de-France: statues of Empress Josephine erected in 1859 destroyed in 2020 and Victor Schloelcher erected in 1904 removed in 2020 St. Louis Cathedral with the spire still under construction city streets and harbour “Hotel de l’Europe” distinctive cliffs on the coast near Fort-de-France &c. The views of Martinique include over twenty images of the ill-fated town of St. Pierre which perished during Mount Pelee’s eruption in May 1902. The photos include one view of St. Pierre before the destruction as well as general views of the ruins and desolation with posing tourists. Several images show the ruins of the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption the downtown core with a grid of destroyed buildings and charred trees wrecked ships in the harbour a surviving bridge and the remains of the victims. A couple of images feature the top of Mount Pelee with a distinctive lava spine or the “Needle of Pelee” which was formed in October 1902 and collapsed in March 1903. Among the identified photos of Nassau Bahamas are the views of the famous silk cotton tree St. Matthews Anglican church completed in 1802 and the interior of Fort Charlotte. The other images show sugar cane plantations and native workers Caribbean residences streets and markets ports the American coastal steamer “Colonia” a series of scenes from a street carnival procession portraits of local market goers families diving children &c. Several images portray the tourists on board the S.S. Moltke including a group portrait with a lifebuoy of “Moltke Hamburg”. Overall a historically significant visual source on the history of American tourism to the Caribbean in the early 20th century with interesting views of the aftermath of the destruction of St. Pierre by the volcanic eruption. hardcover
réf. 86443Havana: El Siglo XX. First Edition. hardcover. very good. 9 volumes bound in one. Very thick 4to 1/2 polished green calf stiff original printed wrappers bound-in. Habana: El Siglo XX 1924-1932. Very good. DIHIGO Y MESTRE Juan Miguel et al. El Siglo XX unknown
réf. 86443Havana: El Siglo XX. First Edition. hardcover. very good. 9 volumes bound in one. Very thick 4to 1/2 polished green calf stiff original printed wrappers bound-in. Habana: El Siglo XX 1924-1932. Very good. DIHIGO Y MESTRE Juan Miguel et al. El Siglo XX unknown books
2015réf. 115332Society. New. Paperback. FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request - IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT - IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT - Flawless copy brand new pristine never opened - -- with a bonus offer-- . 2015. 0942576586 . Society paperback
1906réf. List3021La Habana Province Republic of Cuba 1906. Twenty-two photographs measuring 7 ¼ x 9 ½ inches mounted on heavy cardstock measuring 10 x 12 inches. Photos numbered and dated on negative. In album embossed with “Havana Central Railroad Co./ Progress Photographs/ GUANAJAY”. Photos with fine contrast and some wear; mounts with minor damage slightly warped with some detached from binding. Overall excellent. Havana Central Railroad Company was an American company formed in April 1905. It opened two electric tram lines—Havana to Guanajay in 1906 and Havana to Güines in 1907—before it was bought by the English company United Railways following the Panic of 1907. Offered here is a photo album showing the construction of the Guanajay line. The photographs show laborers assisted by horse-drawn carts digging culverts laying tracks and erecting bridges and buildings. This project came on the heels of the successful efforts of the Cuba Company another railroad company to make the emerging Cuban Republic amenable to American business.They did so first by using ‘revocable permits’ which could ostensibly be revoked by the new government when it was formed to circumvent the Foraker Amendment prohibiting concessions to American companies by the US’s military government; and second by using their close relationships to several members of the Cuban Constitutional Convention to include a law allowing irrevocable permits.1 These along with the Platt Amendment and Governor Leonard Wood’s General Railway Law led to what would amount to domination by US interests in Cuba particularly but not exclusively in the railroad industry.2 Of interest to scholars of the early Republic of Cuba especially the history of US businesses in the country. 1 Juan C. Santamarina “The Cuba Company and the Expansion of American Business in Cuba 1898–1915” The Business History Review 74 no. 1 Spring 2000: 41–83. 2 Louis A. Pérez Jr. “Insurrection Intervention and the Transformation of Land Tenure Systems in Cuba 1895–1902” Hispanic American Historical Review 65 no. 2 1985: 229–254. unknown
1906réf. List3021La Habana Province Republic of Cuba 1906. Twenty-two photographs measuring 7 ¼ x 9 ½ inches mounted on heavy cardstock measuring 10 x 12 inches. Photos numbered and dated on negative. In album embossed with “Havana Central Railroad Co./ Progress Photographs/ GUANAJAY”. Photos with fine contrast and some wear; mounts with minor damage slightly warped with some detached from binding. Overall excellent. Havana Central Railroad Company was an American company formed in April 1905. It opened two electric tram lines—Havana to Guanajay in 1906 and Havana to Güines in 1907—before it was bought by the English company United Railways following the Panic of 1907. Offered here is a photo album showing the construction of the Guanajay line. The photographs show laborers assisted by horse-drawn carts digging culverts laying tracks and erecting bridges and buildings. This project came on the heels of the successful efforts of the Cuba Company another railroad company to make the emerging Cuban Republic amenable to American business.They did so first by using ‘revocable permits’ which could ostensibly be revoked by the new government when it was formed to circumvent the Foraker Amendment prohibiting concessions to American companies by the US’s military government; and second by using their close relationships to several members of the Cuban Constitutional Convention to include a law allowing irrevocable permits.1 These along with the Platt Amendment and Governor Leonard Wood’s General Railway Law led to what would amount to domination by US interests in Cuba particularly but not exclusively in the railroad industry.2 Of interest to scholars of the early Republic of Cuba especially the history of US businesses in the country. 1 Juan C. Santamarina “The Cuba Company and the Expansion of American Business in Cuba 1898–1915” The Business History Review 74 no. 1 Spring 2000: 41–83. 2 Louis A. Pérez Jr. “Insurrection Intervention and the Transformation of Land Tenure Systems in Cuba 1895–1902” Hispanic American Historical Review 65 no. 2 1985: 229–254. unknown books
