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Libreta de Productos Industriales (Cuban industrial-goods / clothing ration book), 1989 — two examples with repurposed postcard covers
Object/Artifact
Small stapled booklet issued by MINCIN for the rationed purchase of industrial products (clothing, footwear, a few appliances, and once-yearly children's toys). Interior pages carry perforated tear-off coupons coded H-11 through H-24 (and a numbered control grid), each marked "SERIE 1989," with a green sun emblem; printed consumer instructions ("AL CONSUMIDOR" / "ADVERTENCIA") and the issuing-ministry address appear on an inside page. Each of the two booklets is sheathed in a protective cover hand-cut from a Cuban tourist postcard, with the holder's name inked on the front. Multiples — two booklets: 1- Rafael García; cover Hotel Habana Riviera card (trilingual; "Cuba alegre como su sol" series); handwritten poem/dedication to "Madre" inside 2- Neida Céspedes; cover red-flowers (cactus-dahlia) card
Libreta de Productos Industriales (Cuban industrial-goods / clothing ration book), 1989 — two examples with repurposed postcard covers
Libreta de Productos Industriales (Cuban industrial-goods / clothing ration book), 1989 — two examples with repurposed postcard covers - Image 2
Libreta de Productos Industriales (Cuban industrial-goods / clothing ration book), 1989 — two examples with repurposed postcard covers - Image 3
2026.4.2
Belonged to Neida Céspedes and her husband.
Neida Céspedes Sierra collection
2026.4
MINCIN
1988
1980s
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
Maker / Issuer: Ministerio del Comercio Interior (MINCIN), Republic of Cuba, La Habana. Covers and inscriptions are the holders' own additions.
Printed: "AL CONSUMIDOR"; "ADVERTENCIA"; "MINISTERIO DEL COMERCIO INTERIOR / LA HABANA 1"; "ESTA LIBRETA NO CONSTITUYE UN DOCUMENTO DE IDENTIFICACIÓN"; coupons "H-11"–"H-24 … SERIE 1989"; green sun emblem. Postcard cover (1): "Hotel Riviera, Habana / Riviera Hotel, Havana / Гостиница «Ривьера», Гавана"; "CUBA ALEGRE COMO SU SOL." Handwritten: holder names "Rafael García" and "Neida Céspedes"; a personal dedication/poem to "Madre" inside cover (1).
Paper
Cardboard
Fair
Neida Céspedes Sierra
owner
Rafael García
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
In 1963 footwear, some garments, and other industrial products were incorporated into rationing. The MINCIN created the OFICODA offices to handle the municipal-level paperwork of the Registro de Consumidores. People thus had two libretas — "la libreta de la comida" and "la libreta de la ropa."
The repurposing of postcards as protective covers, and the handwritten poem to "Madre," turn a bureaucratic rationing document into an intimate, personalized object.