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Cuba: Harbor views and Wreck of the USS Maine, 1895-1905

 File — Box: 3, Folder: 20

Scope and Content

From the Collection: Collection consists of card-mounted photographs (14 x 16.5 cm) taken in New York (City and State), Boston, Florida, Cuba, Nassau, and Costa Rica around 1900. There are many photographs of grand hotels and houses in ornate "Carpenter Gothic" style. There are also beaches and boats, from small craft to stern wheel river boats to war ships. There are photographs relevant to the Spanish American War: the U.S.S. Maine under construction and just after launching at the Brooklyn shipyards, the wreckage of that ship in Havana harbor, and the grave of a victim of the Maine's destruction. Some photos show military encampments in front of government buildings in Havana. Other photographs of interest taken in Cuba include Moro Castle, Spanish Colonial fortresses, and Cabanas prison boneyard. Photos of Cuba, Nassau, and Costa Rica include street scenes, marketplaces, buildings (governmental, commercial, religious, residential), gardens, monuments, and parades. Florida scenes also include the old slave market, fruit orchards, street railroads, a Black vendor of tourist items, what appears to be a group of Seminole Indians at a train depot. Other unusual photos are: a Boston-Chicago baseball game, a Shriner's parade, and pavilions at what appears to be an International Exposition at the turn of the century.

There is little documentation associated with the photographs, although some are identified. The only named persons depicted are the Gray Family, shown at a lakeside cottage in New York. The photographs suggest that the creator of this collection led a life of travel to waterfront locations in Florida and the Caribbean Islands.

Dates

  • 1895-1905

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 462 items (8 boxes) : 462 photographic prints

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451