1952 Le Febure Pictorial Map of Havana, Cuba

This is a 1952 Roger Le Febure pictorial map of Havana, Cuba. Created as a supplement to The Blue Guide to Cuba, Le Febure employs the technique of illustrating Havana's most important tourist sites in profile, which was popularized in European cities like Paris and Rome in the late 19th century. Havana's castles and fortresses are depicted in this manner, along with the National Observatory, the Maine Monument, and numerous hotels, all of which are labeled. Red overprinted arrows emphasize the Hotel Presidente, the Hotel Vedado, the National Airlines Vedado Office, and the National Airlines City Office in downtown Havana. An inset map of the environs of Havana is situated in the lower left, next to advertisements for the National Airlines and the Hotel Presidente.

Some Historical Context

Dating from the year before Fidel Castro launched his armed revolt against the Cuban government, this map represents the glory days of Cuban-American relations when luminaries like Ernest Hemingway dined at the Flordita Hotel and sipped Mai Tai cocktails at Trader Vic's. Within the next ten years Cuba would transform, under Castro's harsh socialist reforms, from the 'Paris of the Caribbean' to an impoverished backwater.

Publication History and Census

This map was edited and published by Roger Le Febure as a supplement to his guide 'The Blue Guide to Havana' and published with the 1952 edition. We have been unable to locate other examples of the 1952 edition, but examples of editions dating from the 1930s and 1940s are part of institutional collections and appear on the private market occasionally.