Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Culbertson, Ely, 1893-1955 to Charles L. Wallis

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05508.077 Author/Creator: Culbertson, Ely, 1893-1955 Place Written: New York, New York Type: Typed letter signed Date: 16 November 1949 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 26.5 cm, Width: 18.4 cm Order a Copy

Culbertson discusses why T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi" is meaningful to him. He cites Eliot's question, "Was it birth or was it death?" and interprets it as a reference to Christ as a moral revolutionist; Christ brought the new Law of Cooperation to ancient society's forefront at the expense of the old Law of the Jungle. Interestingly, Culbertson was an American authority on the game of bridge.

Culbertson, Ely, fl. 1949
Eliot, T.S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965
Wallis, Charles L., fl. 1949

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources