Hendrik Willem van Loon Collection

The 35 cubic feet of Hendrik Willem van Loon (1882-1944) papers consists primarily of personal correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, illustrations, memorabilia, and family papers. This material documents extensively van Loon’s life as an author, illustrator, and journalist, as well as reactions to major events in New York and Europe. The van Loon papers are deposited at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) and a selection of this material, 21 reels, has been microfilmed for the Roosevelt Study Center. The reels contain correspondence with many notable literary and public figures of his time (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Fiorello LaGuardia), a selection of manuscript materials and memorabilia, and the papers of his wife “Jimmie” and his son Gerard Willem van Loon. Much of the correspondence from 1939 to 1942 deals with refugees from Nazi persecution and van Loon’s participation in war relief fund raising and committees.

FINDING AID: Hendrik Willem van Loon Collection

In 2015, the Hendrik Willem van Loon Collection was expanded thanks to the donation of Ms. Athena Meisheid, from Arroyo Grande, California. Her donation consists of one of the most complete collections of van Loon’s works as well as some miscellaneous material, such as pamphlets, photographs, a game set and some framed art pieces. The books in the collection include the entirety of van Loon’s own works as well as works by other authors for which van Loon had written an introduction or drawn illustrations. Furthermore, it also includes anthologies that contain contributions by van Loon and other books related to him. All the books can be found in our online catalog as well as in the document below and can be consulted at the RSC only, since they cannot be lend out. The miscellaneous items can also be consulted at the RSC at request.

FINDING AID: Hendrik Willem van Loon Collection Book and Miscellaneous