SKU: 95184317801

Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World

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Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the WorldThe historical record crowns success. Those enshrined in its annals are men and women whose ideas, accomplishments, or personalities have dominated, endured, and most important of all, found champions. John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets are classic celebrations of the greatest, the brightest, the eternally constellated. Paul Collins' Banvard's Folly is a different kind

The historical record crowns success. Those enshrined in its annals are men and women whose ideas, accomplishments, or personalities have dominated, endured, and most important of all, found champions. John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets are classic celebrations of the greatest, the brightest, the eternally constellated.

Paul Collins' Banvard's Folly is a different kind of book. Here are thirteen unforgettable portraits of forgotten people: men and women who might have claimed their share of renown but who, whether from ill timing, skullduggery, monomania, the tinge of madness, or plain bad luck-or perhaps some combination of them all-leapt straight from life into thankless obscurity. Among their number are scientists, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and adventurers, from across the centuries and around the world. They hold in common the silenced aftermath of failure, the name that rings no bells.

Collins brings them back to glorious life. John Banvard was an artist whose colossal panoramic canvasses (one behemoth depiction of the entire eastern shore of the Mississippi River was simply known as "The Three Mile Painting") made him the richest and most famous artist of his day. . . before he decided to go head to head with P. T. Barnum. Ren Blondot was a distinguished French physicist whose celebrated discovery of a new form of radiation, called the N-Ray, went terribly awry. At the tender age of seventeen, William Henry Ireland signed "William Shakespeare" to a book and launched a short but meteoric career as a forger of undiscovered works by the Bard -- until he pushed his luck too far. John Symmes, a hero of the War of 1812, nearly succeeded in convincing Congress to fund an expedition to the North Pole, where he intended to prove his theory that the earth was hollow and ripe for exploitation; his quixotic quest counted Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe among its greatest admirers.

Collins' love for what he calls the "forgotten ephemera of genius" give his portraits of these figures and the other nine men and women in Banvard's Folly sympathetic depth and poignant relevance. Their effect is not to make us sneer or revel in schadenfreude; here are no cautionary tales. Rather, here are brief introductions-acts of excavation and reclamation-to people whom history may have forgotten, but whom now we cannot.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 05/01/2002
ISBN: 9780312300333
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d
Award: Oregon Book Awards - Nominee
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SKU: 95184317801

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A.N. Libby
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 3
Love it but it stains
Color: Haze Blue, Size: 2 Pack Standard(20"X 26")
I love these but had to knock some stars down for a single reason. They are soft, the material is somehow both substantial and airy at the same time, and a smooth, silky (not satin), cozy texture. The color was exactly as pictured. The envelope style works great to keep my pillows covered. The fabric lays perfectly. I love sleeping on this pillow case. Took two stars off because every single atom of oil on my face stained it immediately and won't come out in the wash. Its not subtle. You can see anywhere my face has been, forever. I don't have some incredibly oily face or hair, I've never had this happen to another pillow case in my life.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2026
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Michael
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Good buy
Color: Navy Blue, Size: Body(20"X 54")
Nice and soft , well packaged and looks good. Kinda pillowcase you find in a luxury hotel
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2026
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CJHenry
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Silky and Soothing
Color: Cream, Size: 2 Pack Queen(20"X 30")
I thought I was getting 1 of the queen sized but I got 2. I got these for my Pomeranian's fuzzy pillow. He's always hot and these are very cooling and very good quality. He loves them and are very comfortable for him. They totally transformed his shaggy old pillow. I used the larger body pillow covers to replace the covers I had. They matched my bedspread perfectly. I use 2 body pillows along the exterior wall in my bedroom where there is cold coming through the floor in the winter. I'm sure I will enjoy them in the summer when it's hot too!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2026
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J. Germello
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
Cooling fabric is Just what I needed
Color: 03-black, Size: 20" X 26" (Pack of 4)
I'm a hot sleeper. These cooling pillow cases are fantastic. It has ended soaked pillow cases. I paired these with waterproof pillow cases for extra pillow protection. I now sleep cooler and wake up dry. I also toss and turn less and wake up less frequently hot, sweaty and uncomfortable and I can sleep though the night. I don't need to flip my pillows over because of sweat. Both sides of these pillow cases have arc chill cooling fabric. They're soft, silky, breathable and comfortable to lay my head on. The colors to choose from is a wide selection. These look great on my king size bed. I love this fabric so much that I upgraded all of my pillows and blanket sheets to cooling fabric. I'm sold on these. The zipper is premium, sturdy and durable. My pillows fit perfectly on these cases. The cooling material is top notch high quality to me with great craftsmanship. I liked these ones so much that I bought more and plan to again. My partner seen and felt these and immediately went online to buy some blankets to go with the pillow cases I gifted. I also bought my son these and a few cooling blankets. These work best with a fan or air conditioner. Highly recommended and you won't regret this purchase if you're a hot sleeper to profusely sweating during sleep.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2026
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Dawn H
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Cool and comfy!
Color: 01-grey, Size: 20" X 26" (Pack of 2)
Very comfy and cooling. Great for hot sleepers!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2026

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