Emilio Cueto, born in Havana, Cuba on February 5, 1944, has lived in the United States since 1961. A retired attorney with a J.D. from Fordham University, Cueto worked for the Inter-American Development Bank. He is a renowned Cuban American collector, musicographer, and independent scholar, holding one of the largest private collections of Cuban memorabilia.
Cueto has published several books on Cuban culture and history and contributed to numerous periodicals. Since 1992, he has authored more than 10 books on Cuban culture, including the Inspired by Cuba series, published by the LibraryPress@UF, an imprint of the University of Florida Press and the University of Florida Smathers Libraries open access publishing arm.
Books by Cueto
Cueto has published the following books through the LibraryPress@UF.
Inspired by Cuba
This book explores the many ways in which the island of Cuba has been immortalized in ceramic pieces. While the works of several Cuban ceramists are present in these pages, this is not a book about Cuban ceramics featuring Cuban artists working in that medium. The protagonist of this book is Cuba itself, seen through the eyes of Ceramists — native and foreign.

Delivering Cuba Through the Mail
Postage stamps of any country illustrate its landscape, honor notable citizens, and tell its story. Cuba is well-represented on its stamps, but it also appears on foreign stamps, souvenir sheets, and commemorative cachets. In Delivering Cuba through the Mail, these lesser-known appearances offer a unique glimpse into Cuba’s global cultural impact.

Cuba on the Labels
Cuba on the Labels: A Selection of Cuba-Themed Cigar Labels Printed Outside of Cuba is Emilio Cueto’s third book in his Inspired by Cuba! series. Cueto explores how the island of Cuba and one of the island’s top exports, the Cuban cigar, have been immortalized in cigar labels created outside of Cuba. Seen through the eyes of these cigar label makers, Cuba itself serves as the book’s protagonist.

Book Presentations
Cueto has provided presentations through Smathers Libraries sponsored events.
- Inspired by Cuba! Recorded presentation of the exhibit that showcased and explored many of the ceramic pieces which are included in the book.
- Delivering Cuba through the Mail. Video presentation.
- The Cuban Botanical Illustrations (1819-1828) of Nancy Kingsbury Wollstonecraft. Video presentation about the “Specimens of the Plants and Fruits of the Island of Cuba” which was created by Nancy Kingsbury Wollstonecraft. The original Wollstonecraft volume set is housed at Cornell University and digital copies can be found online.
More Resources
uf digital collections
Cueto Materials
The Smathers Libraries Digital Collections is home to Emilio Cueto's books, presentations, and more.

- Emilio Cueto Sends Us to Cuba by Mail (2022), article from the UF Libraries about Cueto’s book, Delivering Cuba through the Mail and related book launch event.
Select other books authored by Cueto, available through the UF Libraries:
- Una visión panorámica de la cerámica de tema cubano (2019)
- Cien barcos en la historia de Cuba, o, historias de Cuba en cien barcos (2018)
- Illustrating Cuba’s flora and fauna (2002)
- Cuba in old maps (1999)
Collection
Celebrating Cuba!
Celebrating Cuba! contains more than one million pages categorized in ten different collections.

The Celebrating Cuba! Collaborative Digital Collections of Cuban Patrimony project was initiated by the University of Florida (UF) in partnership with the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí (BNJM) to provide open access to digital collections celebrating Cuban heritage. Under a 2016 agreement, UF and BNJM are developing and exchanging digital content on Cuba, involving several U.S. and Canadian partner institutions. UF’s George A. Smathers Libraries coordinates digitization efforts for maps, legal materials, monographs, journals, and newspapers, with BNJM advising and contributing unique materials. These digitized resources are accessible to partner libraries, as well as global users via the Digital Library of the Caribbean.