The exhibition features photographs of and original letters by Teilhard, his family, friends and associates, together with privately circulated drafts of his philosophical works and early published monographs. These materials, acquired by gift and purchase, form the nucleus of the rapidly growing collections on and by Teilhard in the Georgetown University Library and the Woodstock Theological Library.
Teilhard's Family, Home & Early Life
History of the Teilhard Family
Autograph letter signed, from Joseph Teilhard de Chardin to the Lukases, 20 May 1975. This letter relates the early history of the Teilhard family.
Ellen and Mary Lukas Collection (GTM-841023), Box 2, Folder 23
The Teilhard Children
Photograph of Pierre Teilhard and his brothers and sisters. From left to right: Pierre, Olivier, Albèric, Françoise & Joseph, Marguerite, Gabriel.
Ellen and Mary Lukas Collection (GTM-841023), Box 2, Folder 21
Emmanuel Teilhard de Chardin in 1923
Photograph of Pierre’s father.
Ellen and Mary Lukas Collection (GTM-841023), Box 2, Folder 21
The Teilhard Coat of Arms
Plate of the Teilhard family crest.
(Lukas Collection)
Berthe Adèle Teilhard de Chardin in 1910
Photograph of Pierre’s mother, born Berthe Adèle de Dompierre d’Hornoy.
(Lukas Collection)
Teilhard’s Birthplace
Photograph of the family estate of Sarcenat, where Pierre Teilhard was born on 1 May 1881.
(On loan from Rev. Thomas King, S.J.)
Two Views of Les Moulins
Photographs of the Teilhard family estate. Teilhard would often spend his vacations here with his brother Joseph.
(Lukas Collection)
The Young Pierre Teilhard
Three early photographs of Teilhard: Pierre as a schoolboy; as a seminarian at Aix-en-Provence in 1899; in his uniform as a stretcher-bearer in World War I. He was twice decorated for bravery. (Last photograph on loan from Rev. Thomas King, S.J.)
(Lukas Collection)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Writings in Time of War
Translated by René Hague. New York. Harper and Row, 1968. First American edition of Teilhard’s earliest writings.
(Special Collections Division)
Teilhard in China
Sketch of the View Around Les Moulins
Drawing of the Auvergne countryside by Pierre’s friend and colleague, George Barbour.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Parties and Picnics
Picnics and tea parties were a regular feature of the social life of Westerners in Peking.
Top left: Teilhard, Pierre Leroy, & Françoise Raphael in the Western Hills outside Peking.
Bottom left: Tilly Hoffman and Teilhard at a Mongolian grilled meat dinner.
Top right: Lucile Swan, Françoise Raphael, Teilhard.
Bottom right: Tilly Hoffman, Françoise Raphael, Lucile Swan, Teilhard, Paul Raphael.
(On loan from Mrs. Mary Gilbert)
Two Letters to Françoise Raphael.
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Mrs. Paul Raphael, dated "Wednesday 24." Teilhard sends his regrets to an invitation to cocktails with Huxley.
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Mrs. Raphael, dated only "Thursday," noting Édouard LeRoy's election to the French Academy, and the death of Franklin Roosevelt.
(Raphael Collection)
"Star on the Afternoon Tea Circuit"
Typed letter signed, from Col. David Barrett, who had been at the American Embassy in Peking. This letter to the Lukases relates his memories of Teilhard's popularity among Westerners in China.
(Lukas Collection)
Race Course
Photograph of Teilhard at the Race Course in Peking.
(On loan from Mrs. Mary Gilbert)
Western Hills
Top Center: M. & Mme. Paul Raphael, & Teilhard in the Western Hills.
Bottom Center: Pierre Leroy, Teilhard, & Françoise Raphael.
(Raphael Collection)
Teilhard and Lucile Swan
Teilhard met the artist Mrs. Swan in China and maintained contact with her throughout his life.
Letters
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Lucile Swan, 10 August 1950.
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Lucile Swan, 7 May 1954.
(Lukas Collection)
Tending the Wounded
Photograph of Teilhard and Dr. Delastre caring for those wounded in a battle near Khanin. This occurred during an expedition to far western China.
(On loan from Rev. Thomas King, S.J.)
Teilhard's Calling Card
The card is one of the calling cards Teilhard used while in China. The reverse side is in Chinese.
(On loan from Mrs. Mary Gilbert)
Printing Block
The block is the printing block of the Chinese side of Teilhard's calling card.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Teilhard's Book Holder
Teilhard carried this rack on his many expeditions in China and all over the world throughout his life.
(On loan from Mrs. Mary Gilbert)
The Great Wall
Photograph of the Great Wall of China, by William Drummond, one of the Teilhard's western acquaintances in China.
(Lukas Collection)
Teilhard and C. C. Young
Photograph of Teilhard and his Chinese colleague, walking down an Ichang street.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Peking Union Medical College
Two photographs of the Peking Union Medical College, where Teilhard worked in China.
Top: Lockhart Hall.
Bottom: Anatomy Building
(Lukas Collection)
Teilhard & Palaeontology
Un Sujet Brillant
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 23 September 1940.
This letter contains news on Teilhard's work in China, and laso asks about prospects for positions for his friend and colleague Pierre Leroy.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
News from Shanghai
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to François Raphael, with autograph note at the bottom from Pierre Leroy.
Teilhard writes that he and Leroy are returning to Peking, after having seen a joint work safely to press and having left another with the Auron press.
(Raphael Collection)
At the Grotte de Castillo, in Spain
Photograph of Teilhard and some friends at one of his earlier expeditions.
(On loan from Rev. Thomas King, S.J.)
A Strange Tooth
Typed letter signed, with autograph postscript and drawing, from Teilhard to Walter Granger at the American Museum of Natural History.
(Granger Collection)
At Urumchi
Photograph of Teilhard and a colleague working in a tent on 7 August 1931, during the Haardt-Citroen Expedition to Mongolia.
(Lukas Collection)
At Asku
Photograph taken on 8 October 1931, during the Citroen Expedition. From left to right: Si Val, Commander Pecqueur, M. O. Williams, Morizet, Le Févre, G. M. Haardt, Perraud, Teilhard, Andoin-Dubreuil.
(On loan from Rev. Thomas King, S. J.)
Depth of the Pleistocene Gravel at Shansi
Photograph of Teilhard and his hammer, to provide scale for a picture of the red clay layer over the gravel at a site at Shansi.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Along the Irrawaddy
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Lucile Swan, 6 January 1938. Teilhard tells of his work in the Irrawaddy valley in Burma.
(Francoeur Papers)
J. S. Weiner. The Piltdown Forgery.
London. Oxford University Press, 1955.
One of the earliest full treatments of the Piltdown Hoax after Oakley's proof of the forgery in 1953.
(Special Collections)
Teilhard and Piltdown
Typed letter signed from Kenneth Oakley to the Lukases, 4 August 1981.
Oakley, who was primarily responsible for the discovery of the Piltdown Hoax, congratulates the Lukases on finding evidence that undermines arguments in favour of Teilhard's involvement in the forgery.
(Lukas Collection)
Louis Barjon, S.J., & Pierre Leroy, S.J. La Carrière Scientifique de Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Monaco. Éditions du Rocher, 1964.
This copy is inscribed by Barjon to Robert Francoeur, and is also signed by Pierre Leroy.
(Special Collections)
Teilhard & Peking Man
E. Licent, Teilhard de Chardin, Davidson Black. "On a Presumably Pleistocene Human Tooth from the Sjara-Osso-Gal (South-Eastern Ordos) Deposits."
Offprint from The Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, Vol. V #3-4, Peking, 1927.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin & C. C. Young. "Preliminary Report on the Chou Kou Tien Fossiliferous Deposit."
Offprint from The Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, Vol. VII #3, Peiping, 1929.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
P. Teilhard de Chardin. "The Times of the Loess and Early Man in China."
Originally from the Contributions of the Department of Geography and Geology, Yenching University, Peking, No. 27, 1929, pp. 14-16. Reprinted in Pierre Teilhard de Chadin L'Oeuvre Scientifique, Walter-Verlag, 1971.
(Georgetown University Library)
Death of Davidson Black
Typed letter signed, Teilhard to Granger, 19 March 1934.
Teilhard tells Granger of the death of Black, the head of the Chinese Geological Survey, and on the possible effects of his death on the excavations at Chou Kou Tien.
(Granger Collection)
P. Teilhard de Chardin & W. C. Pei. "Lithic Industry of the Sinanthropus Deposits in Choukoutien."
Offprint from The Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, Vol. XI, #4, 1932. Open to sketches of stone tools made by Peking Man.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Breuil and Stone Tools
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Granger, 12 April 1932.
Teilhard reports Abbé Breuil's work on the stone tools found with the Sinanthropus remains.
(Granger Collection)
Fauna with Peking Man
Typed letter signed. Teilhard to Granger, 18 October 1934.
Teilhard relates the progress of the digging at Chou Kou Tien, mentioning particularly the remains of other fauna found with Sinanthropus.
(Granger Collection)
Discovery of Peking Man
Photograph of the team that discovered Peking Man. From the left: Davidson Black, Teilhard, George Bar bour. Fourth from the left, C. C. Young. Extreme Right, Pei Wen-Chung.
Photograph looking out from the cave at Chou Kou Tien.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Sinanthropus Jaws
Two typed letters signed, from Teilhard to Granger, 18 October 1934 and 17 June 1935. Both letters tell of progress on the Peking Man excavations, especially the finding of jaw bones.
(Granger Collection)
Teilhard & The Science of Man
Vision of the Past
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. New York. Harper and Row, 1966. First English edition.
(Special Collections)
Vie et Planètes
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Peking. "Printed in China by the Catholic University Press," June 1945. Inscribed by the author to Françoise Raphael.
(Special Collections)
Le Phénomènon Humain
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Paris. Éditions du Seuil, 1955. First edition.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Le Milieu Divin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Paris. Éditions du Seuil, 1957. First edition.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
A Reform of Anthropology
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 24 February 1953. Teilhard writes that he continues to work on his "reform" of anthropology, and tells of books by Julian Huxley and Ch. Galton-Darwin that have encourage his ideas about the evolution of Man.
(Barbour Collections, Woodstock Theological Library)
The True Science of Man
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 9 March 1952. Teilard relates his activities in America, and especially his clarifying of his ideas concerning a "true Science of Man," that transcends and encompasses both humanism and anthropology.
(Raphael Collection)
Works in Progress
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 11 September 1945. Teilhard tells of two "studies" he is working on, one on Planetization, and another to be titled "Une orientation nouvelle de las Mystique: l'amour et l'Evolution."
(Raphael Collection)
The Necessary Synthesis of Christianization and Humanization
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 8 October 1947. Teilhard writes that he must set aside his work on human fossils to dedicate himself to "the study of what I call 'the Phenomenon of Man'..."
(Barbour Collections, Woodstock Theological Library)
"Une Interprétation Biologique Plausible de l'Histoire Humaine: La Formation de la 'Noosphère'."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Offprint from Revue des Questions Scientifique, January 1947. Inscribed by the author to Françoise Raphael.
(Special Collections)
Comment Je Crois
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Mimeograph. Privately circulated. Peking 28 October 1934.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
How I Believe and The Spirit of the Earth
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Peiping, 1936. "For Private Circulation." "Printed in China." Both are inscribed by the author to George Barbour.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
A Religion Truly Optimistic and Universal
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 13 May 1938. Teilhard tells of his desire to get back to France, "to reestablish contact with certain currents of thought (inside and outside the Church), which are more and more becoming the deep interest of my life: to develope Christianity into a truly optimistic and universal religion..."
(Barbour Collection)
Teilhard & The Church
"Just As Before Galileo"
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 30 August 1950. Teilhard explains his views on the recent papal encyclical defining the doctrine of the Assumption: "...again, just as before Galileo, they do not understand that the Universe has an 'organicity' that prohibits certain fancies, something that everyone (except them) sees today."
(Raphael Collection)
The Opposition
Photograph of Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Emmanuel Suarez, and Francis Ceuppens. Garrigou-Lagrange, a Dominican, was a consultor of the Holy Office who was strongly opposed to Teilhard's ideas. Suarez was the Master General of the Dominicans and had a similar dislike of Teilhard's ideas.
(Lukas Collection)
The Problem of "Man As A Whole"
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Paul Féjos, Head of the Viking Fund, 10 November 1950. Teilhard writes that he is interested in going to South Africa to further his research on early man. He also mentions a copy of an essay that "for some reasons of general policy, Rom did not allow [him] to publish."
(Barbour Collection)
I Am Still Hoping to Avoid a Show-down
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 24 December 1950. Teilhard write about his current activities, and the attention that the press is paying to him, and his desire to avoid a "show-down" with the authorities in Rome.
(Raphael Collection)
The Situation is Becoming Too Hot
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 11 November 1950. Teilhard tells Barbour that he wants to leave Paris, in part, because the press has been paying too much attention to his clandestine writing.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Many Things Depend On This
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 30 August 1946. Teilhard tells Mrs. Raphael that he is to meet with the new General of the Society of Jesus. "Many things for me depend on this," he writes.
(Raphael Collection)
Underground Work
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 19 December 1948. Teilhard writes that he has still heard nothing from Rome about his book or about conferences in America, but that he continues to write nonetheless. "It is very amusing to do underground work," he writes.
(Raphael Collection)
"Confused in His Spirit"
Typed letter signed, from Malvina Hoffman to George Barbour, 8 April 1949. One of Teilhard's old friends from his days in China writes to Barbour about Teilhard's state of mind, and the possibility that his situation vis-a-vis the hierarchy could worsen.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Teilhard
Mary Lukas and Ellen Lukas. Garden City, New York. Doubleday, 1977.
A recent, very thorough biography of Teilhard, with particularly good coverage of his struggles with the Church concerning his ideas.
(Gift of The American Teilhard Association For the Future of Man to the Georgetown University Library)
"Rome Prefers Not To See Me Publish"
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour [9 May 1950]. Teilhard writes that he is healthy enough to consider a trip to South Africa, and that he "continues to write the Essays that Rome prefers not to see me publish."
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
"I was invited very amicably"
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 2 October 1948. Teilhard writes that he is off to Rome to discuss the publication of his "Phénomènon Humain." He hopes that all will go well, and that he will be able to appear at the Collège de France and at conferences in America.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Entertaining a Guest at Études
Photograph of Teilhard and his superior at Études, René d'Ouince (on the left), with a visiting Belgian priest. D'Ouince was one of Teilhard's supporters in his struggles with the Church.
(Lukas Collection)
Teilhard & America
To Work in America
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 9 June 1948. Teilhard tells Barbour about the possibility of coming to work in America, depending on the approval of the Society.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
A Really Intelligent and Influential Colleague of Mine
Photocopy of an autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Lucile Swan, 25 March 1937. Teilhard writes of his meeting with Edmund Walsh, S.J., at Georgetown, and their discussion of an "Institute of Man" planned by Alexis Carrel.
(On Loan from Mrs. Mary Gilbert)
Friends in America
Photograph of Teilhard at Glacier Lake, Montana in 1952
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Walter Granger, from Berkeley, California.
(Granger Collection)
Early Contacts in America
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to Walter Granger, 20 April 1933.
Teilhard sends news of palaeological activities in China, as well as the effects of the Sino-Japanese War, in return for his re-election as a Corresponding Member of the American Museum of Natural History.
(Granger Collection)
"Living at America"
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to John LaFarge, S.J., 4 January 1952. Teilhard tells about his working at the Wenner-Gren Foundation (formerly the Viking Fund) and his living at the America House in New York.
(LaFarge Papers)
"Can You Do Something For Me?"
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 16 January 1951. Teilhard expresses his apprehension that Féjos and the Viking Fund will not take him on after all, because he has not heard back from them. He did, of course, go to work there.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Symposium
Typed letter signed, from Teilhard to George Barbour, 14 June 1932. Teilhard tells of a recent symposium in Anthropology held by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. He also mentions his plans for a trip to the West Coast.
(Barbour Collection, Woodstock Theological Library)
Last Conversation
Autograph letter signed, from Ida Treat Bergeret to the Lukases, 16 December 1975. Mrs. Bergeret tells the Lukases about her last conversation with Teilhard, which covered "the Cosmic and Personal God."
(Lukas Collection)
Teilhard de Chardin Album
New York. Harper and Row, 1966.
Some scenes from Teilhard's life in New York.
(Gift of the American Teilhard Assocaition For the Future of Man to the Georgetown University Library)
Visiting America
Autograph letter signed, from Teilhard to Françoise Raphael, 15 March 1948. Teilhard describes his meetings with friends and colleagues in America, and his continuing to write. He mentions more work on his "new Anthropology."
(Raphael Collection)
Letters From My Friend Teilhard
New York. Paulist Press, 1980.
A published collection of later letters from Teilhard to Pierre Leroy, most of which Teilhard wrote from America.
The Influence of Teilhard
Changes During Vatican II
Typed letter signed, from Dorothy Poulain to Robert Francoeur, 9 October 1963. Mrs. Poulain, a member of the French Teilhard Association, relates some hopeful moves in the church that presage a change in the Hierarchy's attitudes toward Teilhard's ideas.
(Francoeur Papers)
Early Theological Discussion
Gustave Weigel, S.J. "The Phenomenon of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin." Offprint from the Natural Law Review, Vol. 6, 1961. (Weigel Papers, Woodstock College Archives)
Henry de Lubac, S.J. The Religion of Teilhard de Chardin. New York, Desclee Company, 1967. (First English edition). (Georgetown University Library)
Early Opposition
Autograph letter signed, from Edgar Bruns, S.J., to Robert Francoeur, 14 July, 1962. Father Bruns writes about the recent monitum published against the philosophical works of Teilhard and the apparent victory of conservative theologians.
(Francoeur Papers)
Teilhard's Will
Autograph manuscript by Jeanne Mortier, answering typed questions by the Lukases. Mlle. Mortier describes the events surrounding Teilhard's leaving of his unpublished manuscripts to her, so they might be published in the future.
(Lukas Collection)
Exhibition curated by James C. Helminski, Science Library.
The Library is deeply indebted to those generous donors who have made this exhibit possible: Mrs. François Raphael, Ian and Hugh Barbour, Mary and Ellen Lukas, Robert T. Francouer and the American Teilhard Association.