The Phenomenon of Teilhard: An Exhibit to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

Howard W. Gunlocke Rare Book and Special Collections Room

Etching and engraving of the Teilhard de Chardin family coat-of-arms

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was born outside the city of Clermont-Ferrand, in the ancient French province of Auvergne, at the Teilhard chateau of Sarcenat. In the Clermont of the 1890s the name Teilhard was an important one, with his father, the country squire Emmanuel Teilhard de Chardin, being one of the largest landowners in the province. Pierre was one of eleven children, all raised in an atmosphere of piety and plenty. From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 1 Folder 18.

Photograph of a pastel portrait of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

circa 1884

From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 3 Folder 8.

Photograph of, left to right, Pierre, Francoise, and Alberic Teilhard de Chardin

1886

From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 3 Folder 8.

Photograph of the family of chateau of Sarcenat

where Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on May 1, 1881, the second son in the family. From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 3 Folder 8.

Photograph of Pierre (at left)

1894

With his brothers and sisters: Olivier, Alberic, Marguerite-Marie, Francoise (holding Joseph), and Gabriel Teilhard de Chardin, 1894. Their mother was Berthe Adele de Dompierre d’Hornoy, from a well-connected family in Picardy and a great-granddaughter of Voltaire’s sister. She created for her children a closed Pascalian world, so somber, strict and pious that acquaintances referred to it as “la Grande Grille.” From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 3 Folder 8.

Photograph of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as a Jesuit novice at Aix

1899

From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 2 Folder 22.

Letters from Egypt 1905-1908

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Herder and Herder
1965

First English edition. After finishing the novitiate in 1900, he was at Laval for two years of advanced classical studies and from 1902 to 1905 he did three years of philosophy on the Isle of Jersey. In the Summer of 1905 Teilhard received his appointment from the Jesuits to teach, at the Holy Family school in Cairo, physics and chemistry. Woodstock Theological Library, Call number 191 T233, LE4.

Letters from Hastings 1908-1912

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
New York: Herder and Herder
1968

First English edition. From 1908 to 1912 Teilhard was in Sussex, England, at the Jesuit school at Ore Place, near the town of Hastings. Following the normal course of studies to become a Jesuit priest, he devoted himself to theology and was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1911, in the presence of his parents. It was during a walk along the outskirts of Hastings in May of 1909 that he met the amateur geologist Charles Dawson. The two became friends and in May of 1912 Teilhard accompanied Dawson for the first time to the area of Piltdown, near Uckfield. It was there that Teilhard found an elephant molar: “This first elephant tooth made me feel like a hunter after his first catch.” Woodstock Theological Library, Call number 191 T233, LH4.

Photograph of Teilhard (at right) with paleontologist friends digging in the Cro-Magnon caves of Spain

1913

From the Lucile Swan Papers. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 6 Folder 13.

Letters from Paris 1912-1914

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
New York: Herder and Herder
1967

First English edition. It was during this period that Teilhard made great strides in theology. For four consecutive years he was chosen to take part in one of the “solemn disputes” of the year. The first time was in order to attack his professor’s theses: the other three times he had to defend them. Here he proved to be a capable and practical theologian. In one letter he writes: “Time spent at theology has the advantage of making ideas mature well.” His spiritual life is also revealed in these letters to his parents. Woodstock Theological Library, Call number 191 T233, LH5.

Typed manuscript (Teilhard’s World War I journal)

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Bernard and Barbara Wall (translators)

With manuscript corrections by the Walls and an autograph statement by Bernard. From the Bernard and Barbara Wall papers. With a photograph of Teilhard, circa 1918. From the America Archives. When World War I broke out, Teilhard was on a mountain climbing trip. In September of 1914 Teilhard’s Jesuit superiors decided it would be good for him to go to a Jesuit house in England to begin his tertianship. Two months later his brother Gonzague was killed in battle, and his own order to report for duty came. He was attached as a stretcher-bearer to a colonial regiment of North African Zouaves and saw action in the Marne before the end of the first year. Then the Zouaves were moved to Ypres in Belgium, where the Germans had used poison gas. later they battled the Germans at Artois, winning, but losing half the Zouaves. In November of 1915 he had his first leave. In May of 1916 the Zouaves were ordered to Verdun. In a lull in the fighting Teilhard began to keep this diary and started putting down his “passionate vision of the earth.” Barbara and Bernard Wall Papers, unprocessed collection. America Magazine Archives, Box 42 Folder 9.

Typed manuscript, “La Paleontologie et l’Apparition de l’Homme”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

5 pages, published in the January 1923 issue of Revue de philosophie. From the Teilhard - de Margerie Collection, gift of Diane de Margerie through the auspices of Solange Soulie. Teilhard - de Margerie Collection

Mimeograph, “La Messe sur le Monde”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Ordos, 1923. Given by Teilhard to Marie Therese Dubalen, gift of Nancy Corson Carter. In 1923 Teilhard took part in a French palaeontological mission in China in the Ordos country directed by Pere Licent. As Teilhard wrote the same year to Leontine Zanta: “When I am traveling by mule, for days on end, I say to myself, as I used to do, the ‘Mass on the World’ that you know, and I believe I say it now with more clearness of mind and conviction even than before.” Teilhard - Dubalen Collection, Box 1 Folder 10.

Typed letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

30 August 1924, two pages, to Roy Chapman Andrews. From the Granger - Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Andrews (1884-1960) was an American naturalist, explorer, and writer on the staff of the Museum of Natural history in New York (1906-1941) and its director (1935-1941). He headed the Mongolian Expedition on which Teilhard served as a geologist and a paleontologist. Teilhard became very fond of him. Granger - Teilhard Collection, Box 1 Folder 1.

Typed manuscript, “Le Milieu Divin”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Tientsin, November 1926-March 1927. As Teilhard wrote to Claude Aragonnes on November 7th, 1926: “I have settled down to the little book I plan. I want to write it slowly, quietly - living it and meditating on it like a prayer.” From the Cosme-Teilhard de Chardin Collection, gift of Marie-Therese Cosme. Teilhard - Cosme Collection.

Mimeograph, “Le Milieu Divin”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Tientsin, November 1926-March 1927. With a possible inscription from the author to his close Jesuit friend, the French biologist Pierre Leroy, S.J. (1900-1992). Leroy lived with Teilhard during the Japanese occupation. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 3 Folder 7.

“Fossil Men in China and Mongolia: Late Palaeolithic predecessors of Chinese civilization”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

in Natural History: Journal of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume XXVI, No. 3, May -June 1926 issue. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 28.

A Map of the Younger Eruptive Rocks in China

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Nanking: Bulletin of the Geological Survey of China
1928?

Teilhard writes that here is: “for the first time, a general Map of the Eruptive Rocks of China (Palaeozoic and later), classified according to their geological age.” From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 3 Folder 6.

Le Paleolithique de la Chine

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre et al
Paris: Masson et Cie Editeurs
1928

Tipped into the volume is a typed letter signed by Emile Licent, S.J. (1876-1952), written from Tientsin, December 1928, to Pierre Marcellin Boule (1861-1942), French paleontologist and professor at the Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 3 Folder 5.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

16 July 1929, to unidentified friends. The letter of Albert, of June 2, arrived here to the western end of Shansi, province without bandits or famine where I have lived for one month.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

20 April 1931, to Walter Granger. From the Granger-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Walter Granger, an American paleontologist, was a specialist in Mongolian studies and a member of the Roy Chapman Andrews expedition in the Gobi Desert. In this letter Teilhard comments: ...I am still in Peiping. The Citroen tractors got some trouble (the rubber of the caterpillars bands has been sun-burnt during the journey by Suez, on the boat, and breaks out. The expedition is waiting for new rubber-bands - I wonder where we are going to start really... In May Teilhard would join Citroen’s “La Croisiere Jaune” expedition. since 1929 Andre Citroen and his factory-manager had been preparing an expedition into Central Asia. They hoped to rediscover the ancient ‘silk road’ and at the same time demonstrate the qualities of the Citroen equipment. Teilhard-Granger Collection, Box 1 Folder 3.

Mimeograph, “L’Esprit de la Terre”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Pacifique, 9 March 1931. With the signature of Pierre Leroy, S.J. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Teilhard was now just fifty and while waiting to set out, wrote this work. In it he comments: With the support of what religion and science have been teaching me for the last fifty years, I have tried in this to make my way out into the open. I wanted to clear of the fog and see things as they really are...And the first thing I saw was that only man can be of any use to man in reading the secret of the world. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 25.

Calling card belonging to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as honorary adviser to the Chinese Geological Survey, Tientsin

Lucile Swan Papers, Box 5 Folder 7.

Photograph of Teilhard (on the right) and Lt. Commander Point in Dr. Delastre’s tent in the Urumchi

August 7, 1931

Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 2 Folder 22.

Typed letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

3 pages, 15 April 1932, to Walter Granger. From the Granger-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Writing about discoveries in the Gobi Desert and drawings a schematic for various sediments in Eastern China. Teilhard-Granger Collection, Box 1 Folder 6.

Societe de Geographie Physique

Revue de Geographie Physique et de Geologie Dynamique, 1932. Reprint of Teilhard’s published paper from the Citroen Expedition. Gift of James W. Skehan, S.J.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

One page, 23 January 1933, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. In the Autumn of 1929 Teilhard met at a dinner party in Peking, the American sculptor Lucile Swan (1890-1965). This meeting began a remarkable friendship that lasted for twenty-five years and is recorded in the correspondence of more than 200 letters by Teilhard , the originals at Georgetown. In this letter from Paris Teilhard writes of his leaving France the next month, and coming back to China. Mentions that he met Davidson Black and Mrs. Black in London the previous month. Black (1885-1934) was a Canadian scientist and head of the anatomy department at Peking Union Medical College. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 1 Folder 3.

Photograph of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

circa 1934

From the Lucile Swan Papers. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 6 Folder 15.

Mimeograph, “Comment je crois”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Peking, 28 October 1934. Given by Teilhard to his friend, Marie Therese Dubalen, gift of Nancy Corson Carter. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 22.

Typed letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

2 pages, 5 March 1934, to Walter Granger. From the Granger-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Mentioning Teilhard’s new edition of his findings on Teng Gur (China) and information about his friend, the American paleontologist George Barbour, with whom he worked on various expeditions from 1929 to 1953. Shown is Teilhard’s study of an animal tooth found in a baboon pit. Teilhard-Granger Collection, Box 1 Folder 10.

Photograph of Teilhard (on the left) and the Abbe Breuil at the Ming Tombs

April 7, 1935

On the verso Teilhard writes “by Pei”. Wen-Chung Pei was a Chinese paleontologist and a student of Abbe Henri Breuil (1877-1961), French priest and noted authority on paleolithic art. Pei discovered the first “Peking Man” skulls at the Dragons’ Mountain in 1929. From the Lucile Swan Papes. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 6 Folder 1.

Typed letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

8 August 1936, to Walter Granger. From the Granger-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Discussing excavations and discoveries, including “two more pieces of Sinanthropus skull [Peking Man] (small but interesting) ... (and two teeth also) ...” Teilhard-Granger Collection, Box 1 Folder 14.

A Personalistic Universe

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Peiping, 1937. First English edition. Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 88VA2.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

12 September 1938, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Writing about the activities of friends, “[Pierre Leroy], up to Tokyo!”, and hoping himself “to have time to see the [Joseph] Grews in Tokyo.” Joseph C. Grew was the American ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941. The papers of his son-in-law, diplomat Cecil B. Lyon, also a Teilhard friend, are in the Special Collections Division. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 1 Folder 104.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

two pages, 17 July 1940, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Writing from Peking of various changes and ending with the philosophical statement: You are right when warning me not to accept to get “old”. As you know, the year was not specially good physically for me; and probably also I lack a definite object of work or conquest ahead. Not so much a “right” as an incentive to live. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 1 Folder 121.

The Granitisation of China

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Publications de l'institut de géo-biologie
1940

Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 99A7.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

two pages, 8 August 1941, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Bidding Lucile farewell as she returns to America. With it he encloses: ...a copy of the only “pious” object left, since years, on my working table. Hope you will not think it too “roman-catholic”. For me this quite simple illustration is a vague representation of the universal “foyer” of attraction which we are aiming for. In this atmosphere we can always love each other more and better. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 2 Folder 1.

Holy card belonging to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

From the collection of Rev. Thomas M. King, S.J.

Reflexions sur le Progres

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Peking, 1942. First edition, 1 of 250 copies. With a presentation inscription to Mme. Henri Cosme. From the Cosme-Teilhard de Chardin Collection, gift of Marie-Therese Cosme.

Early Man in China

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Publications de l'institut de géo-biologie
1941

Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 99A13.

Fossil men, recent discoveries and present problem

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

a lecture given on the 26 of March, 1943, at the Catholic University of Peking. Peking (1943). Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 99A17.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

four pages, 8 August 1944, to Henri and Mme. Cosme. From the Cosme-Teilhard Collection, gift of Marie-Therese Cosme. Henri Cosme was the French Minister to China in the 1930s.

Le néolithique de la Chine

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, Pei, Weng-Chung
Peking : Institut de géobiologie
1944

Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 99A17.

Photograph of Teilhard (standing at left) with friends

including Wen-Chung Pei (sitting in the center), the coauthor of the above work, circa 1944. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 6 Folder 10.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

one page, 23 September 1946, to Mme. Francoise Raphael. From the Raphael-Teilhard de Chardin Collection, gift of Mme. Raphael. Paul Raphael was the director of the Banque-Chinoise in Peking during the 1930s. Both he and his wife stayed in China during the Japanese occupation. In this letter from Paris Teilhard writes about friends and activities there, including a dinner he had with Julian Huxley. Raphael-Teilhard Collection, Box 1 Folder 14.

Mimeograph, “Le phenomene humain”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Rome, 28 October 1948, with a presentation inscription on the cover to Pierre Leroy, S.J. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers. Starting in May of 1938 Teilhard began drafting The Phenomenon of Man. He wrote to his brother Joseph in August of that same year: I am working steadily on the first chapter of The Phenomenon of Man, a page or two a day. For the last ten months I have been thinking about it a great deal and it seemed to me that plan and inspiration had reached maturity. So far I have come up against no ‘fault’ as it develops. Rome thought differently and in September of 1947 it forbade Teilhard to publish anything involving philosophy or theology. “All this isn’t making life any brighter” he wrote to Abbe Breuil. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 3 Folder 10.

Photograph of Teilhard

circa 1945

From the Lucile Swan Papers. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 6 Folder 15.

Mimeograph, “Le Coeur du Probleme”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Les Moulins, 8 September 1949. With a presentation inscription to Roland de Margerie, the French Ambassador in Peking, marked “Semi-confidential”. From the Teilhard-de Margerie Collection, gift of Diane de Margerie through the auspices of Solange Soulie. Every summer Teilhard went for a rest to the home of his brother, Joseph, at the Chateau of Les Moulins, Neuville, Puy-de-Dome, France, where he made his annual retreat. This among other works was written there.

Photograph album, 1930s-1950s, with many unpublished snapshots of Teilhard

Terra, Rhoda de

Gift of Joyce Lussier. Helmut de Terra was a geologist and explorer in Tibet, Central Asia, Burma, India and Java as well as a professor at Columbia University in New York. His wife became one of Teilhard’s closest friends and as Rhoda Hoff wrote the novel, The Silver Answer (1945), a fictionalized account of her relationship with Teilhard.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

9 May 1950, two pages, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Telling Lucile of lack of news from Rome: “...as far as I am concerned, nothing much new. I am still waiting (after four weeks) the answer of Rome to my proposed corrections. Is that a bad or a good omen? Impossible to say. In the meantime I am...a candidature to the French Academie des Sciences...I was thrown accidently in the affair...” Lucile Swan Papers, Box 2 Folder 59.

Photograph of Teilhard taken following his reception into the French Academy of Sciences in May of 1950

From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection, gift of Mary and Ellen Lukas. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 3 Folder 9.

Mimeograph, “Le Coeur de la Matiere”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Les Moulins, 15 August 1950, with a presentation inscription to Mme. de Margerie. From the Teilhard-de Margerie Collection, gift of Diana de Margerie, through the auspices of Solange Soulie.

Bronze bust of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Swan, Lucile

Borrowed from Rev. Thomas M. King, S.J.

“Australopitheques, Pithecanthropes et Structure Phyletique des Hominiens”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
January 21, 1952

Reprint of a lecture delivered at the Academie des Sciences, Institut de France. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 19.

Photograph of Teilhard on a visit to Crater Lake in Oregon

1952

From the Lukas-Teilhard de Chardin Collection. Lukas-Teilhard Collection, Box 1 Folder 2.

Typed letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

one page, 31 October 1952, to Mme. Houdin. From the Teilhard-Houdin Collection, gift of Pierre Leroy, S.J. Giving Mme. Houdin news of New York City where he had gone to live and work as a “research associate” at the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Teilhard-Houdin Collection, Box 1 Folder 8.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

two pages, 7 September 1953, to Mme. Houdin. From the Teilhard-Houdin Collection, gift of Pierre Leroy, S.J. Teilhard-Houdin Collection, Box 1 Folder 14.

“L’Afrique et les Origines Humaines.”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
January 20, 1955

Reprinted essay. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 17.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

one pages, 30 March 1955, to Lucile Swan. From the Lucile Swan Papers. Less than a month before his death Teilhard writes this affectionate letter to his dear friend and correspondent, Lucile Swan. This would be his final letter to her. Lucile was among the small group of mourners who attended the Mass at St. Ignatius in New York. Lucile Swan Papers, Box 2 Folder 97.

Autograph letter signed

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

two pages, 4 April 1955, to Pierre Leroy, S.J. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Less than a week before his death, Teilhard writes of his plans and his hope to go to California in September. He relates his continuing troubles with Rome: Would you believe that Rome: 1) will not give me permission to go to Pris for the paleontological symposium at the Sorbonne in April 1955 to which I was invited...It’s curious...that I feel absolutely untroubled; on the contrary, I am encouraged or at least excited by these obstacles. Resistance of this kind strengthens me... Teilhard died on Easter Day, April 10th, 1955. Pere Leroy was in Chicago and later wrote that he “did not see him until Easter Monday. His body was laid in the private chapel of the Jesuit Fathers of St. Ignatius High School. He was dressed in violet vestments, his hand crossed on a rosary and crucifix, and his face a little sunken, he lay in the silence of death. ...I had lost an incomparable friend, the world and the Church had lost an uncommon mind which, through many troubles and misunderstandings, had tried to extend to humanity a message of hope.” Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 1 Folder 98.

Le Phenomene Humain

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Paris: Editions du Seuil
1955

In 1951 Teilhard gave thought to the manuscripts that were the great work of his life. What would become of them after his death? He realized that if they were to become the property of the Society of Jesus, they then might be buried in its archives for years, untouched. They challenged the then current thoughts about God, man and the universe. A solution was suggested that his papers might be left to a lay person and Mlle. Jeanne Mortier was the obvious choice. She had devotedly curated his archive for many years and Teilhard appointed her his literary executrix. Following Teilhard’s death Mlle. Mortier founded a committee of Teilhard’s family members, friends and colleagues, to arrange for the publication of his writings. Le Phenomene Humain was the first in the series and became a bestseller, appearing in both England and America in 1959.

Divine Milieu

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
New York: Harper and Row
1960

First American edition.

“The Universe as Epiphany”

Merton, Thomas

Typed manuscript, with holograph corrections. 11 pages, 1960. From the Edward Rice Papers. Perhaps published in Jubilee, this article is a study of the Divine Milieu which had just been published in America. Merton, the famous American monk and author, writes that the work is “not controversial to the same degree as the Phenomenon of Man, though it is sufficiently vital and independent in its thought to trouble minds that fear the very shadow of originality as somehow ‘dangerous’.” Edward Rice was Merton’s godfather and his close friend since college, and his archives include scores of Merton’s letters.

In the Field with Teilhard de Chardin

Barbour, George B.
New York: Herder and Herder
1965

First American edition. As Teilhard’s posthumous fame grew, friends began to publish memoirs about him. Here are the recollections of George Barbour, an American paleontologist who taught at Yenching University in Peking and worked with Teilhard on various expeditions from 1929 to 1953. His impressive Teilhard archives are in the Woodstock Theological Library on the lower level of Lauinger Library.

Teilhard de Chardin Album

Mortier, Jeanne and Marie-Louise Aboux
New York: Harper & Row
1966

First American edition. A splendid array of photographs, text and related materials, documenting Teilhard’s remarkable life, drawn from his archives in the Fondation Teilhard de Chardin in Paris.

The Life of Teilhard de Chardin

Speaight, Robert
New York: Harper & Row
1967

First American edition. One of the early Teilhard biographies in English was this one done by the noted British Catholic author and actor, Robert Speaight, friend of Evelyn Waugh.

Autograph manuscript poetry notebook

Jennings, Elizabeth

late 1973, shown is the text of her poem “Teilhard de Chardin”. From the Elizabeth Jennings Papers. A noted English poet, Elizabeth Jennings, attended St. Anne’s College, Oxford, and became close friends with Philip Larkin and Kingley Amis. In his anthology Oxford Poetry, Amis described her as “the star of our show, our discovery.” She won numerous prizes and was appointed CBE in 1993, but as a poet rarely strayed from familiar themes such as religion, children, old age, art, love and death. She was born and remained a life-long Catholic. Elizabeth Jennings Papers, Box 1 Folder 7.

“In Admiration of Teilhard April 10, 1955.”

Lynch, William F., et al.
April 12, 1975

America, April 12, 1975. A special issue of America, an American journal run by the Jesuits. This one is devoted to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his death. The issue’s editorial is called “The Teilhardian Phenomenon After 20 Years.”

Teilhard

Lukas, Mary and Ellen Lukas
New York: Doubleday and Company
1977

First edition. One of the most thorough of Teilhard biographies in English. Their extensive collection of research materials on Teilhard was given to the Special Collections Division by the Lukas sisters. It is still a valuable resource for the Teilhard scholar.

“R.P. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.”

A stamp was issued by the French government on the occasion of Teilhard’s centennial. From the Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 4.

The Letters of Teilhard de Chardin and Lucile Swan

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press
1993

First edition. Edited by Mary Wood Gilbert, niece of Lucile Swan, and Rev. Thomas M. King, S.J., author of books on Teilhard and Professor of Theology at Georgetown University. This volume is composed of the texts of some 200 letters from Teilhard to Swan, the originals within the Special Collections Division. They offer new insight into the life of one of the most fascinating spiritual and intellectual figures of the last century. A second edition of the work is available from the University of Scranton University Press.

Spirit of Fire: The Life and Vision of Teilhard de Chardin

King, Ursula
Maryknoll: Orbis Books
2000

Ursula King is the Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol, England. This is one of her many books exploring the thought and spirituality of Teilhard de Chardin and how he speaks to the concerns of our time.

Teilhard in the 21st Century: The Emerging Spirit of Earth

Fabel, Arthur and Donald St. John, eds.
Mayknoll: Orbis Books
2003

First edition With articles by a variety of Teilhard authorities, including Thomas M. King, S.J. and Ursula King.

Teilhard’s Mass: Approaches to “The Mass on the World.”

King, Thomas M., S.J.
New York: Paulist Press
2005

First edition. “The Mass on the World” is a lengthy poem by Teilhard, rich with imagery and passion, and remains Teilhard’s most popular essay. In this work Father King explores the heart and mind of Teilhard and reveals how a Christian can transform one’s life and death into an all-embracing Mass on the Altar of the World.

Finding Aids from the Special Collections

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)

The extensive collection about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin at the Georgetown University Library, the largest and most important holding outside of his archive in Paris, and the related collections about Pierre Leroy, S.J., his close Jesuit friend and noted biologist, is the loyal and hard work of mainly three people: Rev. Thomas M. King, S.J., Teilhard scholar and distinguished theologian at Georgetown University; Mrs. Janetta Warre, kind benefactor and organizer of the Teilhard centenary exhibition in Westminster Abbey, London, in 1983; and the late Madame Soulange Soulie, good friend of Pierre Leroy, S.J. and diligent searcher of French materials on Teilhard for Georgetown.

Les Felides de Chine

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre and Pierre Leroy
Peking: Institut de Geobiologie

Lauinger Library Special Collections, Call number 99A18.

Typed letter signed, 1 page, 17 February 1952, to Pierre Leroy

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

From the Pierre Leroy Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Teilhard writes of his recent visit, “I just got back from Washington (Georgetown University), where I was charmingly received – especially by the rector who once worked on a kind of thesis at the Sorbonne while living on the Rue Raynouard and by Father Walsh (Edmund), the missus dominicus of Russia and Japan...” and later in the letter remarks, “The sky was clear and blue over the still-dark trees of the Potomac which will soon burst into bloom. This outing did me considerable good...” (translation by Mary Lukas). Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 1 Folder 56.

Letters From My Friend Teilhard de Chardin, 1948-1955

Leroy, Pierre

Originally published in 1976, English translation and new matter published in 1980 by Mary Lukas.

L’Homme Reconcilie avec ses Origines et sa Destinee

Leroy, Pierre
France
1986

From the Pierre Leroy Papers, gift of Pere Leroy. Pierre Leroy Papers, Box 2 Folder 11.

Un Esprit Genial et une Ame Mystique le Pere Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Leroy, Pierre

From the Cosme-Teilhard de Chardin Collection, gift of Marie-Therese Cosme.

“Teilhard As I Knew Him.”

Leroy, Pierre

Printed in The Teilhard de Chardin Centenary Exhibition Catalog, 1983.

Autograph letter signed, 12 May 1982, to Janetta Warre

Leroy, Pierre

The letter is regarding Teilhard’s quote, “L’age des nations est passe...” and contains references to Georgetown University, Rev. Thomas King, S.J., and Joseph E. Jeffs, Georgetown University Librarian. From the Leroy-Warre Collection, gift of Janetta Warre. Leroy-Warre Collection, Box 1 Folder 1.

Autograph letter signed, 3 September 1976, to Constantin Kluge

Leroy, Pierre

The letter includes reference to Claude Riviere and to Kluge’s proposed autobiography. Kluge met Pierre Leroy in Shanghai while attending a lecture by Teilhard, their mutual friend. Riviere, director of the French radio station in Shanghai, was also a friend of Teilhard. From the Constantin Kluge-Pierre Leroy Collection, gift of Constantin Kluge. Constantin Kluge-Pierre Leroy Collection, Box 1 Folder 1.

Autograph letter signed, 18 November 1990, to Leo Zonneveld

Leroy, Pierre

The letter contains Father Leroy’s positive response to Zonneveld’s request for his contribution to the International Teilhard Compendium (published as “The Desire to be Human” in 1983). Gift of Dr. Zonneveld.

Program for the Celebration du centenaire de la naissance de P. Teilhard de Chardin

took place September 4,5,6, & 7, 1981 at Orcines. The event was organized by the Association des Amis de Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. From the Leroy-Warre Collection, gift of Janetta Warre. Leroy-Warre Collection, Box 3 Folder 167.

Journal published by the Association des Amis de P. Teilhard de Chardin

Summer 1988 edition. From the Thomas M. King Papers, gift of Father King.

Printed card in remembrance of Jeanne-Marie Mortier upon her death on October 8, 1982

from La Foundation Teilhard de Chardin and L’Association des Amis de P. Teilhard de Chardin. From the Pierre-Warre Collection, gift of Janetta Warre. Leroy-Warre Collection, Box 3 Folder 163. By 1964 another Teilhard association had been founded: The Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Association of Great Britain and Ireland based in London. In 1970 the association changed its name to The Teilhard Centre for the Future of Man.

Constitution of The Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Association of Great Britain and Ireland

originally adopted in 1966 and including amendments adopted up to 1969. From the Lady Bronwen Astor Papers, gift of Lady Bronwen Astor. Lady Bronwen Astor Papers, Box 1 Folder 17.

The Teilhard Review

issues October 1972 and June 1972 (back cover including a list of the speakers at the Seventh Annual Conference). Beginning in 1966, The Teilhard Review was published by The Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and after 1970 by The Teilhard Centre for the Future of Man. From the Robert T. Francoeur Papers, gift of Mr. Francoeur. Robert T. Francoeur Papers, Box 2 Folder 4. The American Teilhard de Chardin Association began as a small, informal group in 1962. The association expanded and became Incorporated in 1967.

Notice of Meeting of the American Teilhard de Chardin Association

Incorporated distributed by Secretary Minna Cassard whom Winifred McCulloch described in his Short History as a devoted High Church Episcopalian with a sense of style and worldly values who gave the association “a working structure without which it could not have survived.”

Newsletter

dated December 1969, mentions the Teilhard Library-Center and also the bronze head of Teilhard done by sculptress Malvina Hoffman, which is now on display in Woodstock Theological Library, Georgetown University. From the Lady Bronwen Astor Papers. Lady Bronwen Astor Papers, Box 1 Folder 9.

A Short History of the American Teilhard Association

McCullock, Winifred
1979

McCullock, an active member of the association, served as Secretary and Vice-President in addition to helping to run the Teilhard Center and editing the newsletter. Lauinger Library, Call number B2430.T373 A5 1979.