Edwards H. Metcalf Papers

Edwards Huntington Metcalf was a Pepperdine University Board member, a T.E. Lawrence enthusiast and collector, and grandson of Henry Edwards Huntington (a railroad tycoon and founder of the Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens located on his San Marino estate). He was an owner of multiple small businesses as well as president of the Huntington Land Company. He frequently donated to the Huntington Library, and also had his own collection of rare books (primarily related to T.E. Lawrence).

Metcalf was born November 4, 1911, to parents John and Elizabeth Metcalf. The family lived in Northern California, and Edwards was the second of four children (Mary, Edward, John, and Lawrence). He married Jane King (April 24, 1910-May 27, 1994) and they lived in San Marino, California for many years. Metcalf also served in the Navy during the Korean War. He died in Sierra Madre, California on April 2, 2001, and he and Jane were buried in Riverside National Cemetery (a military cemetery in Riverside, California).

In 1986, he donated nearly 500 books and pamphlets from his T.E. Lawrence collection to Pepperdine's Payson Library. In order to celebrate this new collection, as well as the centennial of Lawrence's birth, Pepperdine invited the foremost scholars and authors on Lawrence to give talks and participate in discussions on the famous soldier and author. The T.E. Lawrence Symposium was an event produced by Pepperdine University and held on May 20th and 21st, 1988. The symposium was initiated and chaired by Metcalf.