In this article, it will be my aim to outline the key features of Emerson's original conception of "Bildung," with special reference to the links, first, between the American essayist and Wilhelm von Humboldt, and second, Emerson and John Dewey. After introductory notes on how to map out Emersonian "Bildung" in relation to the available philosophical commentaries, I delineate some of the chief meanings of "Bildung," showing how Emersonian self-culture aligns with Humboldtian "Bildung." Second, I draw out concrete implications for educational practice from an Emersonian view of self-culture vis-à-vis comparisons with Dewey. In addition to "Bildung" qua self-culture, another basic sense of Emersonian "Bildung" is education, and Emerson often deals with educational themes in his treatments of self-culture. In the final section, I return to the specifics of Emerson's sense of "Bildung," saying a few words on the alleged elitism of the term, and in particular, its neglected religious overtones. This section serves the purpose of distinguishing Emerson's view not only from related accounts of "Bildung," but also from the secondary commentaries available.