A Guide to the Robert N. Pierce Collection
Finding aid created by Paige M. Scofield
University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections
December 2007
Descriptive Summary |
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| Provenance: | Pierce, Robert N. (Robert Nash), 1931- | |
| Title: | Robert N. Pierce Collection | |
| Dates: | 1959 | |
| Abstract: | Newspaper clippings, contents of an official press packet, and photographs from reporter Robert N. Pierce's trip to Cuba shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. | |
| Extent: | 0.2 linear feet. (1 box) | |
| Identification: | MS Group 235 | |
Biographical/Historical Note
Robert N. Pierce (1931-) worked as a reporter, editor, and educator throughout the South. Employed variously by the Miami Herald, Shreveport Journal, St. Petersburg Evening Independent, San Angelo Standard-Times, and Sarasota News, he went on to become a professor of journalism at the University of Minnesota and Louisiana State University. In 1970 he became a faculty member of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Pierce is the author or contributor to more than twelve scholarly publications. Currently a professor emeritus, Pierce resides in Micanopy, Florida.
Scope and Content
Photographs, newspaper clippings, a draft of a speech, and a press packet containing a letter, pass, and cloth patch. The collection contains materials from Pierce's January 1959 reporting trip to Cuba, mere weeks after Fidel Castro's overthrow of the Batista regime. Representing the Sarasota News, he participated in a press visit, which the new Cuban government called Operación Verdad (Operation Truth) with the intention to highlight positive views of Cuba and its revolution to the rest of the world. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs that Pierce took in Cuba and the accompanying copies of news articles that ran as a special series in the Sarasota News. Topics include the trial of Sosa Blanco, Castro's January 21 speech and mass rally at the Presidential Palace, and the La Cabana prison. One set of photographs (noted below) was provided to visiting journalists as official government photos. The collection is arranged by subject.
Access or Use Restrictions
Access
Collection is open for research.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Robert N. Pierce Collection, [Title of Archival Collection], Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Acquisition Information
Collection donated by Robert N. Pierce, 2007.
Contents List
Selected Subjects and Access Points |
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| Castro, Fidel, 1926- | ||
| Cuba -- History -- Revolution, 1959 -- Pictorial works. | ||
| Cuba -- Politics and government -- 1959- | ||
| photographs | ||
| Political prisoners -- Cuba -- Pictorial works. | ||
For further information, please contact: Special Collections Access Services.
