Van Loon's Lives,: Being a true and faithful account of a number of highly interesting meetings with certain historical personages, from Confucius and ... to us as our dinner guests in a bygone year by Van Loon, Hendrik Willem - 1942-01-01

Simon and Schuster, 1942. hardcover. Fair. the dust jacket is not included; the binding of the book is loose; the inner pages are tanned; there is wear on the corners and edges;

NY : Simon & Schuster . 1942. good+. Hardcover. ...about whom we had always felt a great deal of curiosity and who came to us as our dinner guests in a bygone year. 886pp + color illustrated plates; color il'd endpages; b/w illustrations; 8.5" tall; soiled red cover with faded gilt lettering on spine; no dj .

George G. Harrap & Co Ltd, 1965. Hardcover. Good. 1965. Reprinted. 646 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth with gilt lettering. Contains black and white illustrations. Binding remains firm.Pages are moderately tanned. Boards have moderate edge-wear with bumping to corners and noticeable rubbing to surfaces.Gilt lettering is darkened.

George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1950. Hardcover. Acceptable. 1950. Reprinted. 646 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth. Black and white and colour illustrations throughout. Severe cracking to rear hinges causing rear board to be loose. Pages and illustrations are lightly tanned throughout. Previous owner's inscription and sticker to front free endpaper. Boards have moderate shelf-wear with bumping to corners and rubbing to surfaces. Light sunning to spine and edges with crushing to spine ends.

George G Harrap & Co Ltd, 1947. Hardcover. Acceptable. 1947. Reprinted. 646 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth. Black and white and colour illustrations throughout. Slight cracking to gutters causing binding to be loose, however pages remain attached. Pages and illustrations have light tanning and foxing throughout. Previous owner's inscriptions to front pastedown, endpaper and half-title page. Boards have light shelf-wear with corner bumping. Light sunning to spine and edges with crushing to spine ends.

George G Harrap, 1948. Hardcover. Good. 1948. Reprinted. 646 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth covered boards with gilt. Colour and black and white illustrations throughout. Pictorial endpapers. Pages remain bright and clean with minimal tanning and foxing. Binding remains firm. Boards have heavy shelf wear with bumping and fraying to corners and crushing and fraying to spine ends. All surfaces tanned and sunned, particularly spine. Gilt lettering to spine is heavily dulled. Some additional marks and staining to surfaces.

Simon, 1944. Hardcover. Acceptable. 1944. Sixth Printing. 886 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth. Contains black and white in-text illustrations. Paper insert titled 'Van Loon's Lives' tucked into book, heavily creased with some small tears and tanning to edges. Pages are lightly tanned and foxed throughout. Previous owner's inscription to first few pages. Cracking to hinges with exposed binding, causing boards to be loose. Binding is slightly shaky. Boards have moderate edge wear with bumping to corners and rubbing to surfaces. Crushing to spine ends with small splits and fraying to cloth. Scuffing to title to spine. Moderate sunning to spine and edges. Small scuffed holes to spine strip.

George G.Harrap & Co.Ltd, 1944. Hardcover. Good. 1944. Reprinted. 646 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth boards with gilt lettering. Contains black and white and colour illustrations. Clean pages and illustrations with light tanning and mild foxing throughout. Binding remains firm. Boards have mild edge-wear with slight rubbing to surfaces and bumping to corners. Gilt lettering is bright and clear. Minor sunning to spine and edges with crushing to spine ends. Visible wear marks to boards.

ill. (some col.); plates (some col.).
extra half-title ([4] leaves) loose or added.
book-plate on half-title.
Biographies of famous people. Includes Erasmus, William the Silent, George Washington, Sir Thomas More, Bach, Breughel,
Cervantes, Shakespeare, Moliere, Descartes, Emerson, Empress Theodora of Byzantium, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Robespierre,
Torqumada, the Buddha, St. Francis, H.C. Andersen, Mozart, Beethoven, Napoleon, Plato, Confucius, Peter the Great, Charles XII of Sweden,
Voltaire, Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Montaigne, Rabelais, Emily Dickinson, Frederic Chopin, Benjamin Franklin, Fridtjof Nansen, Jakob van Heemskerk,
Willem Barents, Surgeon de Veer, Thomas Jefferson.

This book is one of the most odd in our Collection, since it is written and illustrated by Mr. Van Loon himself. The author was passionate about history. His book, "The Story of Mankind" won the first Newberry award for children's writing. His eccentric style was either loved or hated, and since he was more concerned with ideas than facts, his books are like a window into how the man thought. This book's dust cover has been reconstructed and preserved, since it was falling apart; the interior of the book is mark-free and lovely, and includes a sheet that details where each character appears in the book, almost as if they were stepping on the stage. He obviously viewed History as a great drama.