The Republic of Cuba (7)

This small envelope was posted at Havana on December 26, 1910. It probably included a “carte de visite,” or visiting card.

Vol. II, p.46a: Havana to Ciudad. 26 December, 1910.

In polite society, when a gentleman came to call, he generally presented a small preprinted card, which bore his name and address and perhaps a small photographic portrait of himself, to a servant to be given to the host. This provided a way for the host to know who was calling, and if the host was not at home, it was a record of the individual who had called.

In the case of this envelope, the carte de visite may have also borne a Christmas message.

The 1 centavo postage stamp bears the portrait of General Bartolome Maso, one of the patriots of the Cuban revolution. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York, the stamp was first placed on sale on February 1, 1910.