Our Artist in Cuba, Peru, Spain and Algiers Leaves from The Sketch-Book of a Traveller, 1864-1868

In this illustrated travelogue a 19th‑century artist leaves New York aboard the steamer Columbia, notebook in hand, to record life across the Atlantic. Over four years he moves from Havana’s bustling harbor to the sugar‑rich plains of Cuba, the Andean heights of Peru, Spain’s sun‑lit plazas, and the markets of Algiers. The narrative combines careful sketches with journal‑like commentary, painting a vivid picture of each place as it appears to a curious outsider.

The Cuban section begins with the noisy arrival in Havana, then wanders through narrow lanes such as Calle Mercaderes and lively cafés where locals debate over coffee. Readers hear the clatter of cock‑fights, the chatter of street vendors, and the distant hum of steam locomotives crossing the countryside. Scattered notes describe the colors of colonial architecture, the rhythm of carnival, and even the tiny insects that share the city’s heat. Later chapters shift to Peruvian markets bright with woven textiles, Spanish plazas echoing guitar music, and a brief stop in Algiers that offers a taste of North‑African spice and Ottoman‑influenced streets.