Journey of the Magi

Journey of the Magi Ariel Poems

"Journey of the Magi" was first published as a Christmas greeting. T.S. Eliot’s employer, the publisher Faber and Gwyer, sent it out to its clients in 1927. The poem was printed in a pamphlet with a yellow cover, on two pages with illustrations by E. McKnight Kauffer, along with a page of advertisements. Five thousand copies were made, plus a special limited edition of three hundred and fifty on handmade paper. It was part of a series of thirty-eight illustrated pamphlets with holiday themes called the “Ariel Series” released from 1927 through 1931. Eliot also contributed four other poems to the series: "A Song for Simeon" in August 1928, "Animula" in October 1929, "Marina" in September 1930, and "Triumphal March" in October 1931.