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Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection on T.E. Lawrence: Scrapbooks: Finding
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626757
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Title: Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection on T.E. Lawrence: Scrapbooks
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1889-1988
Bulk dates: 1960s
Collection Number: 626757
Compilers:
Baxter, Frank C. (Frank Condie), 1896-1982;
Herbring, Margaret M., 1927-1985;
Jéhanne (Duncan, Theodora);
Metcalf, Edwards H. (Edwards Huntington).
Extent:
36 volumes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Rare Books Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract:
This collection consists of 36 scrapbooks containing photographs, newspaper clippings, periodical articles, and ephemera concerning
British soldier and author T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935). Most of the albums were compiled in the
1960s, and many of the items discuss Lawrence retrospectively, concern individuals and places associated with Lawrence both
in England and the Arab world, or relate to works about Lawrence
(such as the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia). The scrapbooks
forms part of the Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection of T.E. Lawrence and were compiled chiefly by California Lawrence
collectors Theodora Duncan, Frank C. Baxter, and Margaret M. Herbring, and later incorporated
into Metcalf's collection. The albums do not contain manuscript material by Lawrence, and while most of the items date from
the 1950s onward,
there are some original photographs by men who served with Lawrence during the Arab Revolt, 1916-1918.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on December 8, 2014.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection on T.E. Lawrence: Scrapbooks. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Edwards H. Metcalf, October 1992.
Edwards H. Metcalf (1912-2001) began collecting materials related to T.E. Lawrence in the mid 1930s. As part of his collecting,
he purchased the
entire Lawrence collections of private individuals including Frank Baxter (1968), Theodora Duncan (1969), and Margaret Herbring
(1971).
Processing/Project Information
Most of the scrapbooks were initially cataloged on index cards by Huntington Library catalogers for Edwards H. Metcalf, when
presumably the volume numbers
were applied and many album pages were labeled with "Anal." numbers to correspond to analytical entries for specific items
in the collection's card catalog. The itemized
scrapbook lists in this finding aid were compiled by Philip M. O'Brien, author of
T.E. Lawrence: a Bibliography (Oak Knoll Press, 2000), in 2013-14.
Biographical Note on T.E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) was born August 16, 1888, at Tremadoc, North Wales. His parents, Sir John Chapman and Sarah
Junner never married, though they lived as "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence" for
the remainder of their lives. T.E. Lawrence attended City of Oxford High School and Jesus College, where, in 1910, he took
first-class honors in history.
Lawrence was an archaeologist, scholar, soldier, and writer. He is probably best known, because of David Lean's 1962 film,
Lawrence of Arabia for his exploits during the Arab Revolt, 1916-1918.
He published several works, the most important being
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922 and onwards), and an abridged version entitled,
Revolt in the Desert (1927); also, published after his death,
The Mint (1936, in a limited edition) and his thesis,
Crusader Castles (1936-1937).
Lawrence never married and he found life difficult being known as Lawrence of Arabia; in 1922 he enlisted in the R.A.F. as
John Hume Ross, but the press discovered his identity in 1923. He then changed his
name to T.E. Shaw and spent the next 12 years in different armed services at various postings until his retirement in 1935.
After suffering a motorcycle accident near his home, Lawrence died of his
injuries on May 21, 1935.
Biographical Notes on the Collectors
Frank C. Baxter (1896-1982) was a professor of English at the University of Southern California and a collector of Lawrence
materials for nearly forty years.
Baxter also hosted radio and television shows in the 1950s and 1960s including
Telephone Time,
Shakespeare on TV, and
The Four Winds to Adventure.
Theodora T. Duncan (1905-1991), also known as Theo, was a writer in the Rexall Square Advertising Department in Los Angeles,
California, as well as a poet and sculptor.
She began collecting material related to T.E. Lawrence in the early 1960s after seeing the 1962 film
Lawrence of Arabia and an exhibit of the Lawrence collection of Frank C. Baxter.
Duncan published
Seven poems dedicated to T.E. Lawrence in 1964 and
Ten poems more dedicated to T.E. Lawrence in 1968, which she wrote under the pseudonym Jéhanne.
Margaret M. Herbring (1927-1985) was a rare-book seller and Lawrence collector in Northern California. Herbring and San Francisco
teacher and rare-book collector Kenneth L. Ball (1909-1976)
worked together in researching Lawrence in the 1960s and 1970s.
Edwards "Ned" Huntington Metcalf (1911-2001) was a 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,
British explorer Richard F. Burton, camellias, coins, and the history of paper making.
Metcalf served as an Overseer at the Huntington Library beginning the 1970s, and as a Pepperdine University Board member.
This collection consists of 36 scrapbooks containing photographs, newspaper clippings, periodical articles, and ephemera
concerning British soldier and author T.E. Lawrence.
Most of the albums were compiled in the 1960s, and many of the items discuss Lawrence retrospectively, concern individuals
or places associated with Lawrence, or relate to works
about Lawrence (such as the 1962 film
Lawrence of Arabia). The scrapbooks form part of the Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection of T.E. Lawrence and were compiled
chiefly by California Lawrence collectors Theodora Duncan, Frank C. Baxter, and Margaret M. Herbring, and later incorporated
into Metcalf's collection.
Among the subjects represented in the albums are Lawrence's involvement in the Arab Revolt from 1916 to 1918; Lawrence's
life (primarily documented in photographs and postcards of
locales in England where Lawrence lived); the 1962 film
Lawrence of Arabia; Lawrence's fatal motorcycle accident in 1935; art
depicting or memorializing Lawrence; and works by and about Lawrence published after his death. Materials consist chiefly
of newspaper and periodical clippings, photographs (both
originals and reproductions from museum collections), postcards, advertisements, leaflets, ephemera, research notes, and some
brief correspondence primarily related to the research efforts of the scrapbook compilers.
The albums do not contain manuscript material by Lawrence and most of the items date from the 1950s onward. Notably, though,
there are some original photographs by men who served with Lawrence
during the Arab Revolt. The collection includes 100 photographs taken by Thomas W. Beaumont, a gunner in the Hejaz Armoured
Car Company, and friends from 1915 to 1918 during
the Arab Revolt (Scrapbook 1); a 1923 snapshot of Lawrence as a private in the Royal Tank Corps (Album 2.12); and some original
photographs of Imperial Camel Corps members including
George Sewell, Laurence Moore, and C. H. N. Ashlin, and their activities in the Arab world, 1917-1918 (Scrapbook 7). There
is also a
1967 letter from British historian Arnold Toynbee to Duncan discussing Vietnam and communism (Scrapbook 2.4).
In addition to the scrapbooks focused on Lawrence, there is a volume with clippings about Winston Churchill (Scrapbook 8)
and an album with photographs from the T.E. Lawrence Symposium held at Pepperdine
University on May 20-21, 1988 (Scrapbook 15).
Most of the scrapbooks retain volume numbers presumably applied by Huntington Library catalogers working for Metcalf (though
Scrapbooks 9, 13, 14, 15 were unlabeled and numbers were supplied by the cataloger),
and many album pages have the labels "Anal." with analytical numbers that corresponded to the index-card filing system.
The volumes are physically comprised of a miscellaneous assortment of photograph albums, three-ring binders, and scrapbook
volumes.
Based on bookplates, correspondence within the albums, and appearance, the provenance can be identified as:
- Scrapbooks from the Theodora Duncan collection: 1, 2.1-15, 4.1-4.3, 7-10
- Scrapbooks from the Margaret M. Herbring collection (with notes compiled by San Francisco teacher and Lawrence collector Ken Ball): 5.1-5.3, 13, 14
- Scrapbooks from the Frank C. Baxter collection: 6.1-6.5
- Scrapbooks of unknown origins: 11-12 (appear to be part of the same set)
- Scrapbook from Edwards H. Metcalf: 15
Scrapbook 3 is missing. A photocopy of an index card located in the Papers of T.E. Lawrence collection (mssTEL)
indicates there was a Scrapbook 3 compiled by Thomas Hatton with "clippings relating to T.E. Lawrence's accident and death,"
but the location of this volume is unknown as of 2014.
Additional Guides
An itemized inventory of all scrapbooks (except Scrapbooks 5.1, 8, 11, 12, and 15) is available in PDF form:
Related materials in the Huntington Library
- Thomas Edward Lawrence Papers (mssTEL)
- Individually cataloged books from the Edwards H. Metcalf Library Collection on T.E. Lawrence are included in the Huntington Library Online Catalog: catalog.huntington.org
The scrapbooks are arranged numerically according to scrapbook number.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.
Jéhanne.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Archives.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Death and burial.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Friends and associates.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Homes and haunts -- Photographs.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Monuments.
Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935 -- Portraits.
O'Toole, Peter, 1932-2013.
Imperial Camel Corps -- History -- Arab Revolt, 1916-1918.
Imperial Camel Corps -- History -- Arab Revolt, 1916-1918 -- Photographs.
Lawrence of Arabia (Motion picture)
Soldiers -- Great Britain -- Photographs.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Arabian Peninsula.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Arabian Peninsula -- Photographs.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Middle East.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Middle East -- Photographs.
Arab countries -- History -- Arab Revolt, 1916-1918.
Arab countries -- History -- Arab Revolt, 1916-1918 -- Photographs.
Clouds Hill (England : Dwelling) -- Photographs.
Dorset (England) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
Middle East -- Politics and government -- 1914-1954.
Ephemera.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
Baxter, Frank C. (Frank Condie), 1896-1982, compiler.
Beaumont, Tom W., correspondent.
Herbring, Margaret M., 1927-1985, compiler.
Jéhanne, compiler.
Metcalf, Edwards H. (Edwards Huntington), former owner.
Toynbee, Arnold, 1889-1975, correspondent.