Scope and Contents
The collection documents the career of investigative photojournalist and author Andrew St. George from the 1950s through the 1990s. The materials extensively document the revolutionary era Cuba from the 1950s into the 1960s through photographs, drafts, published articles, and video.
Writings, photographs, and film in the collection also highlight also St. George’s interest in social, economic, and political life throughout Latin America in the Caribbean during the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, St. George travelled to Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia among other places, to document life there in both the shadow of the United State’s Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps programs, as well as Cuba’s attempts to export its ideology of “Fidelismo” in the region. Thus, these materials often showcase the effects of both U.S. influence and intervention and revolutionary movements in the region. St. George frequently photographed Ernesto “Che” Guevara and planned to write a book on Guevara. Following Guevara’s death in Bolivia in 1967, St. George attempted to secure publication of Guevara’s diary, but was unsuccessful. Cables and telegrams related to St. George's attempt are found in Series I of the collection. St. George also photographed the funeral of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, and the 1965 United States invasion of the island in 1965.
Other materials in the collection include St. George's writings and photographs on diverse topics such as media in the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency, gun smuggling and munitions dealers, and the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. St. George was frequently invited to news programs as an expert on Latin American and many of the recordings featuring him are part of the collection.
Writings, photographs, and film in the collection also highlight also St. George’s interest in social, economic, and political life throughout Latin America in the Caribbean during the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, St. George travelled to Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia among other places, to document life there in both the shadow of the United State’s Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps programs, as well as Cuba’s attempts to export its ideology of “Fidelismo” in the region. Thus, these materials often showcase the effects of both U.S. influence and intervention and revolutionary movements in the region. St. George frequently photographed Ernesto “Che” Guevara and planned to write a book on Guevara. Following Guevara’s death in Bolivia in 1967, St. George attempted to secure publication of Guevara’s diary, but was unsuccessful. Cables and telegrams related to St. George's attempt are found in Series I of the collection. St. George also photographed the funeral of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, and the 1965 United States invasion of the island in 1965.
Other materials in the collection include St. George's writings and photographs on diverse topics such as media in the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency, gun smuggling and munitions dealers, and the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. St. George was frequently invited to news programs as an expert on Latin American and many of the recordings featuring him are part of the collection.
Dates
- 1949-2008
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy, which is retained by the repository. Researchers wishing to obtain an additional copy for their personal use should consult Copying Services information on the Manuscripts and Archives web site.
Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy, which is retained by the repository. Researchers wishing to obtain an additional copy for their personal use should consult Copying Services information on the Manuscripts and Archives web site.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright for Andrew St. George's words in the interview with Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra range, Cuba, on November 6, 1958 was transferred to Yale University in 2007. This content may be used for non-commercial purposes without seeking permission from Yale University as the copyright holder. For other uses of these materials, please contact mssa.assist@yale.edu.
Copyright is retained by the heirs of the creator of this collection for all other materials Andrew St. George authored or otherwise produced until the end of 2034. On January 1, 2035, copyright passes to Yale University.Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright is retained by the heirs of the creator of this collection for all other materials Andrew St. George authored or otherwise produced until the end of 2034. On January 1, 2035, copyright passes to Yale University.Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Jean Szentgyorgyi by the Latin American Curator, June 2009; transferred from the Latin American Curator to Manuscripts and Archives, 2012.
Extent
42.75 Linear Feet (74 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection documents the career of investigative photojournalist and author Andrew St. George. The bulk of the material centers on St. George’s work in documenting United States-Latin American relations from the 1950s through the 1970s, particularly United States-Cuban relations. A significant amount of material documents Fidel Castro’s revolution in Cuba, the aftermath of the revolution on the island, and its effect on other Latin American and Caribbean countries and their relationship with the United States. This collection includes published and unpublished writings by St. George, photographs, slides, and negatives, audio recordings, and film documenting St. George's public appearances.
Biographical / Historical
Andrew St. George was born Andras R. Szentgyorgyi in Budapest, Hungary in 1923. He attended Columbia University in the 1950s but never graduated, preferring to find work as a writer and photojournalist to support his wife and frequent collaborator, Jean, and their growing family. St. George worked for United States military intelligence in Vienna after World War II. Later, he worked as an investigative reporter and photographer, focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. His interest in that region began when he conducted one of the first full-length interviews with Fidel Castro and members of his guerrilla army in the Sierra Maestra during the fall of 1958. The interview was later published in Look magazine. St. George published accounts of his time with the guerrillas in Coronet, Cavalier, and Life. During 1959 and most of 1960, St. George lived in Cuba; by the summer of 1960, he had become disillusioned with the Cuban Revolution's authoritarianism. During the next three decades he pursued a career as a photojournalist, working several years at Spotlight Magazine in Washington, D.C. In addition to Cuba, St. George documented the turmoil in the Dominican Republic with the assassination of Raphael Trujillo in 1961 and the U.S. invasion of the country in 1965. He also documented Project Nassau, a planned invasion of Haiti by U.S. mercenaries with Haitian and Cuban exiles. During the 1970s St. George covered the United States Central Intelligence Agency and the Watergate scandal. St. George had two sons, Andrew and Tom. St. George died on May 2, 2001.
General
Some material is fragile and may require conservation treatment or special handling. Fragile material is indicated as such in the finding aid.
Processing Information
Description of the photographs in Series II, "Cuban Revolution and aftermath," boxes 42-46 was provided by Lillian Guerra.
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Castro, Fidel, 1926-2016
- Castro, Raúl, 1930-
- Colombia
- Cuba -- History -- Revolution, 1959
- Cuba -- Politics and government
- Cuba -- Social conditions
- Dominican Republic
- Guevara, Che, 1928-1967
- Haiti
- Havana (Cuba)
- Latin America--Foreign relations--United States
- Sierra Maestra (Cuba : Mountains)
- Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leónidas, 1891-1961
- United States--Foreign relations--Latin America
- United States. Central Intelligence Agency
- Uruguay
- Watergate Affair, 1972-1974
- Title
- Guide to the Andrew St. George Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Joshua D. Cochran, Christine Connolly, and Christine Weideman
- Date
- November 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- November 2012: Finding aid revision description not supplied.
- June 2022: Additional description and processing work completed by Joshua D. Cochran
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
mssa.assist@yale.edu
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
mssa.assist@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511