Name/Title
The Story of Wilbur the HatEntry/Object ID
2026.119.1Description
A charming and whimsically illustrated children's story: "Being a true account of the strange things which sometimes happen in a part of the world which does not exist“. - B. Street Books
Van Loon himself describes the book as:
“The Story of Wilbur the Hat: Being a true account of the strange things which sometimes happen in a part of the world which does not exist.
"Written and drawn for the fun of it by Hendrik Willem van Loon and published as usual by Horace B. Liveright of 61 West 48 Street New York City. Passed by the Westport Board of Censors."
Though illustrated by the author with dozens of full page color illustrations this tale of a travelling green hat and its cricket passenger is not quite the children’s picture book it seems, touching as it does, in passing, on Spinoza, Socrates, Stradivarius, Erasmus, Montaigne, Lincoln, Jesus and Don Quixote among others.
Van Loon was a journalist and historian and the author of a number of volumes of popular history (also often self-illustrated) but here, with a pointed and fantastic innocence, and stripped of any pretense of impartiality, he offers his judgment on the human condition. Good ReadsCollection
BooksInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
StickerLocation
Front flyleafTranscription
Emelita Cohen
1440 — 29th Avenue
Oakland 1, CaliforniaLanguage
EnglishMaterial/Technique
StickerCreate Date
April 18, 2026
