An 1890s U.S. view of Latin America

11/07/10
Latin America and the Caribbean

In the 1890s the Arbuckle Coffee Company promoted its product by including a 3x5 card depicting a U.S. state or foreign country.

Here are some of its cards of Latin America. They are often beautiful images of jungles, wilderness, and people performing mostly agricultural or mining tasks. (Peru, for instance, is all about quinine and guano.) Buenos Aires is the only city in evidence. Populations are one-tenth or less of what they are today. The boundaries on the maps have changed quite a bit.

These glimpses of how the United States viewed its neighbors to the south 120 years ago are taken from the website of a Denver-based antique map company, which sells the cards for $40-50 each. Click on any image to enlarge it.

Argentina (Source)

Bolivia (Source)

Brazil (Source)

Central America (Source)

Chile (Source)

Colombia (Source)

Guyana (Source)

Mexico (Source)

Paraguay (Source)

Peru (Source)

Uruguay (Source)

Venezuela (Source)