During the daytime, it was a tropical paradise, its landscape studded with palm trees and Old-World architecture. By night, it was a glittering playground with glamorous clubs and casinos that showcased the talents of international headliners. But with the 1959 ousting of President Fulgencio Batista, and the subsequent government under Fidel Castro, Cuba was changed forever.

Changed, but not forgotten, as the memories linger on. Thanks in large part to a wealth of evocative artifacts, there are tangible reminders of life in the “Pearl of the Antilles” before the revolution. And for collectors, there is a variety of wares by which to keep alive the memories of another time on this island.

One man’s story

His story is not an unusual one: born in Cuba in 1940, Gerardo Chavez left his home after the revolution, and, as a young man, finally settled in Miami. “I had little choice but to leave the island,” he said. His first job in America was parking cars in Miami Beach, followed by a stint as a Good Humor ice cream man and later, a truck driver for Pepsi-Cola. He owned a few small grocery stores and finished his career working in the insurance business. But he never forgot his home in Cuba. “I looked back at what we had,” he reminisced.

Although he happily assimilated into American life, he kept up with what was happening “back home” by regularly buying copies of Bohemia, a magazine for Spanish-speaking readers that Chavez said was the largest of its kind at the time. Of course, after he was finished reading them, he saved them until he had “hundreds and thousands of them.”

Chavez did not stop there. He began buying back reminders of his heritage, picking up “anything that would bring meaning to me.” After more than 30 years of collecting, it became clear that the time had come to begin culling through his holdings (“I thought, ’I have too much’”).

His son, Jerry, offered to set up a website where his father could sell some of the memorabilia, about 50 items, including bottles and glasses, currency and, of course, magazines. Relying on little more than word of mouth, the website drew several responses in the first month. Chavez laughingly points out that he got off to an inauspicious start: One person wanted to purchase a vintage copy of Bohemia, while the others offered to sell their collections, including an accumulation of old Cuban cigarette packs.

In the beginning, Chavez’s customers were “100 percent Cubans,” nostalgic people not unlike himself. Now, nearly 20 years later, “My customer base has changed,” as only about half of his contacts include fellow ex-patriots and their families. Even though his business is not conducted face to face, he hears from buyers comments like, “My mother-in-law grew up in Cuba, and she’ll like this.” One order from the early days of Chavez’s business did attract his attention: Although the recipient’s name was not “Bush,” the mailing address was 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Chavez added that a CNBC televised news features at the time of President Obama’s “Cuban thaw” generated increased business for Cuba Collectibles.

Today, Chavez’s inventory has grown to include nearly 10,000 individual items; as from the beginning, he continues to buy as well as sell. These days, most of Chavez’s customers live in the United States; he estimates that 40 percent live in Florida, 20 percent in New Jersey, and 10 percent in California. About three percent of his orders are placed by international customers, and he has shipped items to China and Israel.

What to collect

Of course, a colorful culture produces amazing artifacts. And so it comes as no surprise that the range of items that recapture the romance of pre-Castro Cuba is broad. A satisfying collection might begin with the $5 purchase of a postcard, picturing scenes of the island during its heyday. Arguably the most glamorous items are those associated with Cuba’s most popular nightspots, including the Tropicana, Habana-Hilton, the Floridita, and Hotel Nacional, as well as some lesser known clubs and restaurants. Among these items to be collected are swizzle sticks and coasters, glassware and casino chips.

Chavez said that school-related items are also popular, with yearbooks, pennants, and medals among the items frequently sought. Lottery tickets, some of which were issued by Spain and dating to the 1830s, are also available. Advertising items often bear the names of companies that are familiar to Americans, including Woolworth, Esso, and Coca-Cola.

Leisure time in old Cuba is recalled with decks of playing cards and ever-popular sets of dominos. Baseball-related memorabilia, including pins, caps and T-shirts, pennants and trading cards, programs and team photographs, are all desirable items. And Cuban music still fills the air, thanks to vintage record albums with covers worthy of being framed. In addition to artwork meant to be displayed are flags and movie cards.

Many of the items offered that have a Cuban tie-in are also sought by other collectors. Among those with crossover appeal are stamps and currency, including coins, banknotes and paper money (the latter of which can command prices as high as $10,000). Tobacco-related items include cigar bands and cigar box labels (but no cigars), as well as cigarette packs, matchboxes, and ashtrays. Breweriana enthusiasts can select from beer bottles, bottle caps and labels, and milk bottle collectors are charmed by ones with dairy names and logos, all, of course, in Spanish. Rum bottles, soda bottles, medicine bottles: the list is long.

Although some Cuban collectibles could be classified as souvenirs, the items most frequently sought are, for the most part, reminders of a place that was once called home.

Every item Chavez has ever sold, as well as those he continues to offer for sale, has been photographed and documented on his website (www.cubacolllectbles.com). He noted that some customers ask him when he will restock those marked “SOLD OUT,” to which he replies that when many one-of-a-kind or rare artifacts are gone, they are gone. Still, Chavez continues to leave the images and their descriptions online, providing the basis for what he calls a virtual museum. “One day, when I’ve sold out of everything, I will still have a museum of what we had in Cuba before the revolution,” he explained, thereby keeping the memories alive.

For himself, he has “no regrets at all.” Quite the contrary. “I am grateful to Mr. Castro for forcing me out of Cuba because I then became an American,” he concluded. “But that’s the only good thing.”