世界歴史譚. [Sekai rekishidan].

[Hakubunkan]. 博文館. 1902. 6 volumes from a series of 35 each standing on its own. Black and white illustrations, pagination various with all well over 100 pages in length. Original coloured pictorial wrappers chipped with a little loss on spines, some staining around staples, good copies. A series of biographies of famous figures in world history, aimed at a Japanese juvenile audience. These illustrated volumes are biographies of Demosthenes (no 2 of the series), Hannibal (no. 5), Garibaldi (no. 11), President Garfield (no. 19), General Grant (no. 29), and King Charles XII of Sweden (no. 34). The books, by Japanese authors, give an interesting insight into the European and American figures who were regarded as historically significant and as moral exemplars in the Meiji Era. The series was published at a time when Japanese education was still strongly influenced by western models, although a new wave of more nationalist education was just beginning to take hold. President James Garfield, for example, is (rather surprisingly, perhaps) described as having been not merely a US President but also one of the great figures of modern times 'in terms of his opinions, an ideal hero of civilization'. Reflecting the intended audience, this and some other works in the series devote a lot of space to the childhood and early lives of their subjects, emphasising their diligence, hard work, idealism and patriotism. .