1937–1959 Bacardi Cuba Corporate Operations Archive Consisting of Export, Label Production, Hatuey Beer, Taxation, Freight, Advertising, and Pre-Nationalization Business Records, Among Other Notable Documents

Archive Overview

On offer is a substantial 1937–1959 Bacardi Cuba corporate operations archive, comprising approximately 110 documents from Compañía “Ron Bacardí,” S.A. and related Cuban rum-industry files. Centered chiefly on Santiago de Cuba and Havana, the archive documents Bacardi’s pre-nationalization business through export invoices, checks, purchase requests, receiving forms, supplier correspondence, freight records, label orders, tax payments, advertising records, and banking endorsements.

The archive is especially strong because many of the records are functionally connected: purchase requests correspond to receiving forms, supplier letters explain pricing and material substitutions, export invoices trace named shipments abroad, and checks document payment, taxation, freight, and customs-linked processing. Its strongest historical layer is the group of 1959 Bacardi checks, which show the company still operating privately in Cuba after the Revolution and before the 1960 nationalization of its Cuban operations.

Description

This archive preserves a working paper record of Bacardi’s Cuban industrial and export operation during the two decades before nationalization. They show Bacardi as a producer, exporter, taxpayer, advertiser, purchaser of printed packaging, user of freight networks, and participant in Cuban banking and state fiscal systems.

The dominant corporate identity throughout is Compañía “Ron Bacardí,” S.A., often with printed headings identifying the company at Santiago de Cuba y Habana and as Sucesores de Bacardí y Cía., Establecidos en 1862. Many checks also identify the company as Propietarios del Bacardí y la Cerveza Hatuey, tying the archive not only to rum production and export, but also to Bacardi’s Hatuey beer operations.

The archive’s most important chronological feature is its survival into 1959. Several checks  issued after January 1, 1959 show Bacardi continuing ordinary business functions in Cuba.

·      A January 26, 1959 check to Agrupación de Transporte, S.A. records payment for “Acarreos efectuados… durante la segunda quincena del mes de enero/59” [hauling performed during the second half of January 1959].

·      Another January 26, 1959 check to Porteadora Cubana de Carga, S.A. references a waybill and carries later banking/customs-related endorsement language.

·      A June 15, 1959 check pays the Cámara de Comercio de Camagüey for an advertisement in the May 1959 issue of its chamber magazine.

·      An August 18, 1959 Trust Company of Cuba check pays freight on “varios paquetes y cajas conteniendo efectos de propaganda” [various packages and boxes containing advertising/promotional materials].

These documents show ordinary private commercial functions still being carried out during the revolutionary transition.

Two January 1959 checks add a local civic dimension. Both are payable to Luis Columbié for relief connected to Sagua de Tánamo, Oriente.

·      One states that the payment was issued “Para socorrer a los habitantes de Sagua de Tánamo, Ote.” [to assist the inhabitants of Sagua de Tánamo, Oriente].

·      Another explains that it replaced an earlier 1956 check connected to the Patronato Pro Camino Vecinal Collazo-Barrederas, which “no fue hecho efectivo” [was not made effective].

These records document Bacardi’s local social and regional role in Oriente alongside its better-known commercial activities.

A major portion of the archive concerns label production, packaging, and lithographic supply. The central supplier is Compañía Litográfica de la Habana, S.A., whose letters, invoices, and related Bacardi internal forms appear throughout the file.

The 1957 purchase requests and receiving forms are especially strong. They record orders for:

·      1,000,000 Carta Blanca analysis labels

·      1,000,000 Ron Palmas labels

·      100,000 Carta de Oro labels

·      70,000 Bacardi Imports Carta Blanca labels

·      12,000 Añejo Brand miniature labels

·      6,000 aluminum-paper wrappers for Añejo Brand bottles.

Several of these requests have corresponding receiving forms, showing delivery through Porteadora Cubana de Carga, S.A.

The Hatuey beer material is one of the archive’s clearest indicators of industrial scale. A receiving form records 3,000,000 Etiquetas Hatuey Clara [Hatuey Clara labels]. Another records 1,200,000 oval Hatuey Clara labels as a second shipment.

Supplier invoices from Compañía Litográfica record additional runs of 4,000,000 and 2,800,000 oval Cerveza Hatuey Pilsener Mod. 79 labels, with tax calculated under the applicable sales-tax decree. These documents give a detailed view of how Bacardi and Hatuey brand identity was manufactured, ordered, received, and accounted for in pre-nationalization Cuba.

The supplier correspondence gives the archive unusual operational depth:

·      A 1956 Compañía Litográfica letter to José M. Sabater explains that an order for 33,000 aluminum-paper wrappers for Añejo Brand bottles could only be partially filled at the old price because only 22,000 could be made from existing stock. The remainder would require newly purchased material at a higher price, raising the cost to $49.80 per thousand.

·      A related handwritten note asks Sabater to study the matter and return the letter.

·      Other correspondence discusses substituting special envelope paper for Compound Bond, canceling an order for 50,000 lithographed Bacardi envelopes, and preparing quotations for 26,000 holiday greeting cards and 26,000 special envelopes.

These records document specific decisions about paper stock, aluminum wrappers, envelope weight, pricing, inventory, and corporate advertising material.

The export invoices document Bacardi’s international trade network in the 1950s. Destinations represented include:

·      the United States

·      Canada, including Newfoundland

·      Holland

·      Honduras

·      El Salvador

·      Hong Kong

A 1953 invoice to Gande, Price & Co., Ltd., Hong Kong records 25 cartons of Bacardí Carta Blanca, marked “DOUBLE STEEL STRAPPED,” with an import-license notation. A related Bacardi letter refers to Embarque No. 157 for the Hong Kong shipment and asks Havana to forward documentation needed to justify the 2% Obras Públicas charge.

Together, the invoice and letter show both the foreign shipment and the Cuban administrative paperwork attached to it.

The Canadian and Newfoundland records are also important. A 1953 invoice to The Board of Liquor Control, St. John’s, Newfoundland, shipped by Canadian Observer via Halifax, records 500 cartons of Bacardí Carta de Oro Rum, marked “DOUBLE STEEL STRAPPED,” “STRENGTH: 40.0 G.L.,” and “NO FODDER USED,” with a total including freight of $8,145.50. Together with related Nova Scotia Liquor Commission material, this gives the archive a specific Canadian-Caribbean trade component.

The U.S. market appears in both export and label records.

·      A 1939 Bacardi copy letter to H. B. Estrada at the Empire State Building concerns “Etiquetas U.S.A.” and sends 1,200 Bacardí Carta Blanca labels, 400 Bacardí Carta de Oro labels, and 2,000 analysis foot-labels for U.S. bottles.

·      A 1940 letter on José M. Bosch, Agent for Compañía Ron Bacardi, Empire State Building letterhead asks Santiago to send by air 300 Carta Blanca and 300 Carta Oro 4/5 pint label sets.

These documents show the administrative and packaging requirements behind Bacardi’s U.S. distribution before the Second World War.

The archive also includes tax and treasury records. Earlier checks document payments to Cuban fiscal authorities for liquor-tax stamps, income-tax remittances, wage-tax matters, and public-works fund charges:

·      A large 1950 check to the fiscal administrator in Santiago de Cuba records $26,928.00 for “compras de sellos del impuesto sobre licores” [purchases of liquor-tax stamps].

·      A 1955 check to the Tesorero General de la República concerns the Fondo Especial de Obras Públicas and a credit in Holguín.

·      The verso stamps and endorsements show processing through treasury, banking, and compensation systems, including the Tesorería General de la República, Cámara Nacional de Compensaciones, and The Bank of Nova Scotia.

The advertising and publicity material adds another useful layer. Documents record Bacardi-Hatuey newspaper advertising, Camagüey Chamber of Commerce advertising, freight for promotional material, and a 1957 Propaganda Department order for 26,000 greeting cards and 26,000 envelopes for the 1958 holiday season. Distribution instructions identify quantities for the Havana branch, named commercial contacts, and the Santiago office.

One unusual document is a Spanish translation of a letter from F. M. Hitchcock of Wichita, Kansas, who thanks Bacardi for miniature labels and asks for “un juego de cada una de sus etiquetas de tamaño grande y también la etiqueta de las medallas” [one set of each of your large-size labels and also the medal label]. This letter is useful because it shows that Bacardi labels already had value as collectible brand material during the period.

Also included is related Cuban rum-industry material, notably a 1959 José Arechabala, S.A. check. While not part of Bacardi’s own corporate file, it provides useful comparative evidence for another major Cuban liquor house operating in the same revolutionary year.

Representative Research Strengths

·       Post-Revolution Continuity: 1959 Bacardi checks showing continued private operations after January 1, including freight, transport, advertising, customs-linked payments, and Sagua de Tánamo relief.

·       State and Fiscal Infrastructure: Checks, stamps, and endorsements documenting liquor-tax stamps, public-works charges, treasury payments, income-tax remittances, fiscal stamps, and banking clearance.

·       Global Export Networks: 1950s export invoices documenting shipments to Hong Kong, Newfoundland, New York, Albany, Texas, Canada, Holland, Honduras, and El Salvador.

·       Lithography and Brand Production: Purchase requests, receiving forms, invoices, and correspondence with Compañía Litográfica de la Habana for Bacardi and Hatuey labels, aluminum wrappers, envelopes, and advertising material.

·       Hatuey Beer Operations: Multi-million-label production records for Hatuey Clara and Hatuey Pilsener, documenting Bacardi’s beer operation alongside its rum exports.

·       Advertising and Corporate Publicity: Records for Bacardi-Hatuey periodical advertising, Chamber of Commerce advertising, promotional freight, and a 1957 order for 26,000 holiday greeting cards and 26,000 envelopes.

·       U.S. Label and Distribution System: 1939–1940 correspondence with New York agents concerning Bacardí Carta Blanca and Carta de Oro label sets for the U.S. market.

Physical Scope

Approximately 110 documents, including checks, export invoices, supplier invoices, purchase requests, receiving forms, copy letters, freight records, tax/fiscal records, advertising records, and related commercial correspondence. Final document count and physical footprint to be confirmed.

Condition

Condition varies across the archive, as expected for working corporate records. Documents show folds, handling wear, filing holes, edge wear, minor chips, creases, stamps, endorsements, perforated cancellations, annotations, and occasional tears or staining. Some items are cleaner and more displayable; others show heavier administrative use. Many retain original fiscal stamps, bank stamps, treasury marks, routing notes, and cancellation perforations. Overall, the condition is consistent with processed business records that were used, endorsed, paid, filed, and retained. Overall Fair to Good.

Historical Context

Bacardi was founded in Santiago de Cuba in 1862 and became one of Cuba’s best-known international commercial brands. Its official company history states that Bacardi’s Cuban operations and assets were confiscated by revolutionary government forces on October 14, 1960, shortly before the company’s 100th anniversary. The present archive is significant because it documents Bacardi’s Cuban business systems before that event and includes 1959 records showing ordinary corporate activity continuing after the January 1959 Revolution and before the 1960 nationalization.

Note on Related Institutional Holdings

Publicly visible Bacardí-related holdings at major institutions appear to be concentrated in several adjacent categories rather than in directly comparable Cuban corporate operations files. Bacardi Limited maintains its own private corporate archive, described by the Society of American Archivists as including promotional material, Bacardí family photographs, documents dating back to the 1850s, vintage film, artifacts, and corporate patrimony records. The University of Miami’s Cuban Heritage Collection holds Bacardí family and Emilio Bacardí-related material within the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture Records, including correspondence, photographs, and historical documents. Other institutional holdings are more tangential and include the Smithsonian’s Warshaw Collection (Bacardi-related liquor and spirits business ephemera); Duke University (advertising-agency records for Warwick Baker O’Neill, whose clients included Bacardi); and Princeton (Félix Candela Papers, which document the Bacardí Rum Factory in Cuautitlán, Mexico). No public research-library holding that closely duplicates the present archive’s specific combination of Cuban corporate operations records have been found. 

The current file includes: export invoices, checks, Hatuey label-production files, lithographic supplier correspondence, tax and fiscal records, freight documentation, advertising payments, and 1959 post-Revolution continuity documents.