Atlas of Cuba
Atlas de Cuba
Cuba · Prensa de la Universidad de Harvard · 1949
Related Reviews & Articles
Amongst the New Books: Atlas de Cuba
Unknown · 1951
This review evaluates two publications that offer geographic and historical perspectives on Cuba and Korea. “Atlas de Cuba” (1949), produced at Harvard’s Institute of Geographical Exploration in cooperation with the Republic of Cuba’s Department of Agriculture, crams a vast array of data—from geology to population and production—into 63 pages of maps and text. The cartography largely employs Erwin Raisz’s physiographic style, vividly conveying landscape, land use, natural vegetation, and even tourist attractions. Intended as a multipurpose work for schools, offices, and the tourist trade, the atlas suffers from several shortcomings: incomplete English translations of Spanish legends cause a cluttered bilingual layout, and cost-saving production leads to fuzzy printing on cheap paper and poor color registration, occasionally misplacing population symbols into the sea. Despite these flaws, the authors largely succeed in delivering a “living picture of Cuban geography,” and the large infolded wall map alone justifies the modest price. The review also briefly introduces “The Epic of Korea” by A. Wigfall Green, published during the Korean War to supply essential background. The book recounts Korea’s long history of struggle, noting the succession of Manchu, Mongolian, Chinese, and Japanese invasions, and opens with descriptions of the land and its people. Although the review text is incomplete, it indicates the volume’s value for understanding Korea’s past and present conflicts.
Geographical Publications: Atlas de Cuba
Unknown · 1951
This paper presents a comprehensive geographical atlas of Cuba, designed by the Professor of Geography at the Instituto de la Vibora in Havana, employing an analytical approach to illuminate national issues. The research purpose is to provide a detailed, visually rich description of Cuba's physical environment and economic activities, while advancing cartographic experimentation. The methodology integrates a diverse array of graphical tools—block diagrams, distribution maps, pictographs, and a large folded map—combined with concise bilingual (Spanish and English) explanatory texts. The atlas systematically covers the island's location, historical discovery and colonization, climate, geology, geomorphology, soils, vegetation, mineral resources, population and social composition, agriculture, industries, and trade and transportation networks. A key innovation is the large map, based on aerial surveys and analysis of color photographs, where specially selected colors denote cultivated fields and natural vegetation, and physiographic symbols recreate an overhead view of the true landscape. Key findings highlight Cuba’s profound dependence on its geographical attributes—location, climate, and soil—and its challenging economic position as a supplier to the United States. The conclusions underscore the atlas's dual utility: as an indispensable reference for students, teachers, and commerce specialists needing a case study of the Caribbean, and as an essential tool for Cuban citizens to foster a precise understanding of their nation. The work advocates for greater economic diversification and suggests that similar cartographic representations of other regions would greatly enhance landscape visualization and geographical literacy.
A Forgotten Atlas of Erwin Raisz: “Atlas de Cuba”
Nuñez, José Jesús Reyes · 2016
The “Atlas de Cuba” was published in 1949 by the Institute of Geographical Exploration at Harvard University. This atlas is result of collaboration between Erwin Raisz, the American cartographer born in Hungary and a Cuban geographer and cartographer, Gerardo Canet. Using Canet’s words in the Introduction, the atlas is “a living picture of Cuban Geography as far as possible in 64 pages”. A total of 34 themes were represented by maps and graphics, presenting the history of the country, its physical geographical characteristics, the major parameters to describe the society (standard of living, health, social composition, government, etc.) and the national economy. The atlas is the rich combination of maps with pictures, charts and text. The authors not only wanted to create an atlas for scientists and specialists with the different topics represented in the maps: their intention was to make all this information available and easily understandable for the public in general. The atlas joined two peculiar cartographic styles: the delicacy of the drawing ability of Erwin Raisz and Canet’s interest to represent the broader spectrum of data collected by him, using all the graphic tools at their disposal to make the atlas more attractive. This little masterpiece of the mid-twentieth century constitutes a gem intentionally ignored by the current Cuban cartography.
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