Very rare: the first fourteen issues of this important nineteenth century journal devoted to the history of Cuba.
The editor was Manuel Pérez Beato (1855 – 1943), a Spanish physician, historian, and journalist who settled in Cuba in 1878. He was a founding member of the Cuban Academy of History and served as the official historian of the province of Havana from 1928 to 1943.
An avid archivist, Beato’s interest in Cuban history was sparked from the moment of his arrival and El Curioso Americano is the fruit of his research. Beato’s goal was to for the magazine to serve as a venue for the correspondence between writers, American historians and antiquaries where newly discovered documents, and subsequent research could be published and discussed - something like a Cuban Notes and Queries. El Curioso Americano had a sporadic publication history from 1892 until 1939.
The text is augmented by illustrations which include portraits of historical figures such as Miguel Cabrera de Nevares and Joaquín de Ezpeleta, views of Cuba, the tomb inscription of Diego de Velázquez de Cuellar, a description of the oldest monument in Cuba (which commemorates the tragic event that led to the death of the Havana lady Doña María Cepero y Nieto in 1557) and other architectural features.
Not in OCLC, but there is a copy at the University of Florida.
Schulman, I.A., and Miles, E, “A Guide to the Location of Nineteenth-Century Cuban Magazines” in Latin American Research Review, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1977), p.75.
