As stated by the author in several interviews, Tres tristes tigres (TTT) was originally titled Vista del amanecer en el trópico (VAT). Cabrera Infante considers the first version of VAT to be the initial steps in the creation of TTT. Thus he kept the papers, dated 1962-1964, together. However, formally and thematically, early in the process of production of VAT, TTT came to form an independent literary project. Given this evident differentiation, the drafts of both works were organized independently, using the published versions as models.

TTT is not predominantly a novel organized as a continuous, linear narrative; it is structured as a complex texture of several fragmentary narratives, each with a distinct thematic unity. Given that the early version of TTT held by Princeton is incomplete, the papers order is not according to the pagination of the published version. Instead, we chose to organize the materials according to the thematic zones which form the novel and which were often titled by the author (i.e., "Ella cantaba boleros"). We indicate the corresponding pages in the 1967 edition.

Translation from the Cuban by Donald Gardner and Suzanne Jill Levine, in collaboration with the author.

This collection includes preliminary versions of the English translation of Tres tristes tigres. There is a final draft and a series of earlier versions. The collection has the carbon copy of the final draft that runs from page 1 to 467. The collection also has some pages that appear to be from a version immediately prior to the final draft as they have the same page numeration and the same text in each page as in the final draft. Since there are very few of these pages they have been included with the final draft and are placed individually behind the corresponding pages.

For the earlier versions it is less clear how many versions there are. The versions are labeled A, B, C, and D. Version A is the most recent one and it includes the entire book. This version runs from page 1 to 550 and the collection has the carbon copies of most pages. The original version is placed ahead, unless the carbon copy has more recent corrections. There are also versions AAA and AA that have the same numeration as version A, but are more recent. Unless a section of versions AAA and AA can stand by itself, as in the section "The Tale of a Walking Stick," the pages from those two versions are placed in front of the corresponding pages from version A. All these preliminary versions are organized with the most recent version in front. Within version A this is done by page, except where noted above. When sections can stand by themselves they are placed in their entirety ahead of or after the corresponding section. This system follows for version B, C, and D. Section D includes almost the entire book and it is always the last version except for one part where there is an earlier version E.

In all versions each part of the book with a distinctive heading is separated. In the inventory the sections are listed by the first words of the page where the title of subdivision is not at the top of the page.

This collection includes three preliminary versions of La Habana. The first version was started in 1976 and finished on January 30, 1979. Please note that this version apparently combines two as the page numeration suggests. The page numbers cited are those of the version that predominate within the first version, running from page 1 to 587 with gaps between pages 293 and 300, and pages 375 and 428. All chapter titles are the same as in the final version except for the epilogue which in the first version is titled "Facilis Desconsus Avemani" instead of "Función Continua."

In versions two and three, as well as in the first one, the page numeration used is the one given by the author for that particular version. All three versions have been divided in the folders by chapter. When the chapter is too big, it has been divided and the title cited represents the first words on the page. In version three, where chapters sometimes start in the middle of the page, both the first words of the page and the name of the chapter are cited.