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Rev. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. Manuscripts Collections
The Booth Family Center for Special Collections in the Georgetown University Library contains a number of manuscripts collections about noted Jesuit scholar, philosopher, and paleontologist Rev. Pierre Teihard de Chardin, S.J. Manuscripts collections are essentially personal papers generated by an individual and can include letters, manuscripts, journals, photographs, printed materials, and other documents.
Teilhard (1881-1955) studied the relationship between Christianity and science. In 1962, the Catholic Church issued a monitum, which is a simple warning, against the uncritical acceptance of his theories and ideas.
Lucile Swan Papers
Collection Description: 205 letters from Teilhard to Lucile Swan, printed and near-printed documents from Teilhard's time in China, and some photographs of Teilhard and his associates.
Date Span: 1932-1955.
Extent: 2.75 linear feet.
Pierre Leroy, S.J. Papers
Collection Description: 77 letters from Teilhard to French biologist Rev. Pierre Leroy, S.J., letters from scholars and individuals in Teilhard's circle, and one rare mimeographed copy of Teilhard's Le Phénomène Humain from the late 1940s.
Date Span: 1947-1985.
Extent: 1.5 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-Ellen and Mary Lukas Collection
Collection Description: Research files generated by Mary and Ellen Lukas for their book Teilhard: A Biography (1977). Includes original letters together with photo reproductions of letters among those in Teilhard's circle of associates. Also includes some photographs of prominent people and places in Teilhard's life.
Date Span: 1899-1985
Extent: 1.5 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-Walter Granger Collection
Collection Description: Consists of 18 letters from Teilhard to Walter Granger, head paleontologist of the Central Asiatic Expedition. Sent from China. Regarding paleontological discoveries in China.
Date Span: 1924-1935.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-Francoise Raphael Collection
Collection Description: Contains 37 letters, two typed manuscripts, offprints, and photographs sent by Teilhard to his long-time friend Françoise Raphael. The materials document Teilhard's paleontological activities in China from 1938 through the 1940s and show his reactions to the Catholic Church's views on his philosophy.
Date Span: 1938-1952.
Extent: 0.5 linear feet.
Robert T. Francoeur Papers
Collection Description: Correspondence and other documents originating from Francoeur's research on the life and career of Teilhard. Includes materials from American and British Teilhard associations. Also includes correspondence from George Barbour, Jeanne Mortier, and Walter Ong, S.J. There is one original letter (1938) from Teilhard to Lucile Swan.
Date Span: 1938-1975.
Extent: 1.5 linear feet.
Marie-Therese Cosme Papers
Collection Description: Letters and materials relating to Teilhard collected by Marie-Thérèse Cosme. Includes offprints of monographs by Teilhard and Pierre Leroy, S.J. Letters by Alexandra David-Neel and Emmanuel de Breuvery, S.J. are retained.
Date Span: 1939-1981.
Extent: 0.63 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-Diane de Margerie Collection
Collection Description: Inscribed copies of articles, offprints, and other works by Teilhard. Also contains photocopies of Teilhard letters from the early 1940s.
Date Span: 1923-1975.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-R.J. Houdin Collection
Collection Description: 18 letters from Teilhard to Madame R.J. Houdin, regarding personal advice, Teilhard's life in New York, and his trips to South Africa and other places.
Date Span: 1951-1969.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Pierre Leroy, S.J.-Janetta Warre Collection 1
Collection Description: More than 100 letters from Pierre Leroy, S.J. to Janetta Warre regarding the works of Teilhard and the Teilhard Centenary Exhibition organized by Warre in London and Edinburgh in 1983.
Date Span: 1982-1987.
Extent: 0.5 linear feet.
Pierre Leroy, S.J.-Janetta Warre Collection 2
Collection Description: Correspondence between Pierre Leroy, S.J. and Janetta Warre, correspondence about the Teilhard Centenary Exhibition in London and Edinburgh in 1983, and manuscripts and printed materials about the lives of Teilhard and Leroy.
Date Span: 1960-2001.
Extent: 1.75 linear feet.
Pierre Leroy, S.J.-Constantin Kluge Collection
Collection Description: 34 autograph letters from Constantin Kluge to Pierre Leroy, S.J. Also, a memoir by Kluge on his friendship with Teilhard and Teilhard's associates, especially Leroy. Includes full, typed transcriptions by Madame Solange Soulié, a friend of Teilhard, of all of the letters in this collection.
Date Span: 1976-1993.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Teilhard de Chardin-Adrienne Croissant Collection
Collection Description: 72 letters from Teilhard to Madame Adrienne Croissant, concerning his life, work, and travels as well as his concern for her son Tanguy, who died in World War II. Also includes 28 of his mimeographed publications, often presentation copies.
Date Span: 1946-1957.
Extent: 1.0 linear foot.
Marie Therese Dubalen-Nancy Corson Carter Collection
Collection Description: 18 mimeographs by Teilhard sent to his friend Mary Thérèse Dubalen. Two are inscribed to Dubalen, and three are versions of Teilhard's Le Milieu Divin.
Date Span: 1923-1951.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Lady Bronwen Astor Papers
Collection Description: Documents concerning Teilhard and the subsequent associations promoting his legacy. Lady Brownen Astor, of the Teilhard Association of Great Britain and Ireland, collected these materials.
Date Span: 1966-1984.
Extent: 0.75 linear feet.
Leo W. Zonneveld Papers
Collection Description: Correspondence and printed materials regarding the UNESCO colloquium honoring the centenary of Teilhard's birth held in 1981. Includes materials from other Teilhard associations together with letters from Leo W. Zonneveld to Pierre Leroy, S.J. and correspondence of others in Teilhard's circle.
Date Span: 1980-2003.
Extent: 1.25 linear feet.
American Teilhard de Chardin Association Archives
Collection Description: Records of the American Teilhard de Chardin Association, a major organization devoted to the preservation of the works and legacy of Teilhard. Includes files regarding prominent individuals in the study of Teilhard along with journals, printed materials, and audio tapes about Teilhard.
Date Span: 1912-2007.
Extent: 23.0 linear feet.
Davidson Black-William Diller Matthew Collection
Collection Description: 19 transcribed letters between the noted anthropologists Davidson Black and William Diller Matthew and one letter from Black to Herbert M. Evans. The materials concern their works and theories and discuss Teilhard in several of the letters.
Date Span: 1929-1931.
Extent: 0.25 linear feet.
Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection 1
The Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection 1 contains two documents related to Teilhard:
- Box 5 folder 11: Cyril Connolly. Autograph Manuscript, 5 pages. Undated. Reviewing Teilhard's "Letter from a Traveler."
- Box 16 folder 18: Autograph Letter Signed (in French) dated July 16, 1929 from Telihard to "amis." Sent from Pao-te (Shansi) on letterhead of Musee Hoang Ho Pai Ho. Teilhard describes Shansi as a province without bandits or famine. Discusses some of Telhard's travels.
Thomas M. King, S.J. Papers
Collection Description: Source material regarding Teilhard collected by Fr. Thomas M. King, S.J., a Teilhard scholar and long-time professor of theology at Georgetown University who died in 2009. Includes correspondence, photographs, printed materials, and offprints.
Date Span: 1963-2002.
Extent: 0.63 linear feet.
