Details:

Mario A. Pei archive comprising an inscribed reprint of his influential essay “The America We Lost,” together with related correspondence documenting its preservation by The Lincoln Library of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The centerpiece is a reprint of Pei’s widely discussed article, originally published in the May 31, 1952, issue of The Saturday Evening Post, boldly inscribed across the top, “To the Lincoln Library,” and signed, “Mario A. Pei.” Accompanying the reprint are a signed typed letter from Pei on Columbia University Department of Romance Languages letterhead dated November 11, 1952, an autograph letter from Lincoln Library Director Henry E. Luhrs thanking Pei for the inscribed copy, an earlier unsigned typed draft letter from Luhrs requesting the reprint, and the original Columbia University mailing envelope addressed to the Lincoln Library.

Overall very good condition.

Published during the 1952 presidential campaign, “The America We Lost” became one of Mario A. Pei’s most widely circulated and enduring essays. In it, the Italian-born linguist and Columbia University professor reflects on the freedoms and limited government he encountered upon immigrating to the United States, contrasting those experiences with the expanding bureaucracy he believed threatened traditional American ideals. The essay struck a chord with readers across the political spectrum and was frequently reprinted and distributed by organizations advocating individual liberty and free enterprise.

The correspondence in this archive provides exceptional context for the essay’s contemporary reception. After reading the article in The Saturday Evening Post, Henry E. Luhrs, Director of The Lincoln Library, wrote to Pei requesting an inscribed reprint for the library’s permanent collection, describing the article as one that deserved to be “more widely read and retained for others who will be coming after.” Pei responded by sending the personalized copy offered here, remarking in his signed letter that he had “almost feel like retitling it The America We Have Regained since the recent election,” a clear reference to the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower only days earlier. Luhrs replied with a heartfelt handwritten letter expressing gratitude and noting that the inscribed copy would first be displayed before being placed into the library’s permanent reference collection.

Mario A. Pei (1901–1978) was one of the twentieth century’s foremost linguists, serving for decades as Professor of Romance Philology at Columbia University. A prolific author and scholar, he wrote more than fifty books on language, etymology, and linguistics while becoming a familiar public intellectual through his articles, lectures, and radio and television appearances. This archive preserves not only a signed example of one of his most memorable essays, but also the complete correspondence documenting its presentation to an institutional collection, offering a remarkable glimpse into the lasting impact of Pei’s writing during one of the defining political moments of postwar America.

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11624 1416824-1