Huntington (Henry Edwards) Papers, 1640-1998, bulk 1840-1927

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Summary

Title:
Henry Edwards Huntington papers
Dates:
1640-1998, bulk 1840-1927
Creators:
Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850-1927
Abstract:
This collection consists of the personal and business papers of Henry Edwards Huntington, American railroad and land developer and book, manuscript, and art collector. The papers deal chiefly with California railways and Southern California real estate and industry. There are also papers related to the Huntington family and the founding and history of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.
Extent:
523.26 Linear Feet (546 boxes, 554 volumes, 61 oversize folders, 8 rolls, 2 objects)
Language:
Materials are in English with some German, French, and Spanish.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Edwards Huntington papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of the personal and business papers of Henry E. Huntington and includes materials related to the Huntington, Holladay (Henry E. Huntington's sister Caroline married Edmund Burke Holladay), and Metcalf families. Most of the collection documents Huntington's business interests in Southern California, particularly in railways, real estate, and industry. It includes biographical information, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera, business records, and physical objects. The business records document the Huntington Land and Improvement Company, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Pacific Electric Railway Company, and other businesses in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and the San Gabriel Valley. These records include account books, annual reports, correspondence, maps, tracts, balance sheets, and related financial materials. The collection also contains materials related to the founding of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, including auction catalogs, invoices, receipts, bills for art, rare books, and manuscripts. Additional materials concern a lawsuit over Huntington's estate tax after his death and the passage of Proposition 15 in 1930, which exempted The Huntington from paying California property tax. The collection also includes materials related to Collis P. Huntington, his business interests, and Arabella Huntington. The collection also includes blueprints for Huntington's San Marino residence, the Huntington Library building, and the Westinghouse Building in Los Angeles. The correspondence series contains more than 22,000 pieces of personal and business correspondence dating from approximately 1790 to 1950. Photographs include formal portraits and candid images of Henry E. Huntington, Collis P. Huntington, Arabella Huntington, and the extended family, as well as early photographs of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The ephemera consists of miscellaneous printed materials, much of it related to Henry E. Huntington and his business interests. Physical objects include Henry E. Huntington's lunch box, razor set, traveling trunk, and other items.

Biographical / historical:

Henry Edwards Huntington (1850–1927), founder of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, was born in Oneonta, New York, to Solon Huntington and Harriet Saunders Huntington. In 1870, he moved to New York City, where he found work with help from his uncle, Collis P. Huntington (1821-1900), an American industrialist and railroad magnate. In 1873, Henry married Mary Alice Prentice; they divorced in 1906. The couple had four children: Howard Edward Huntington, Clara Leonora Perkins, Elizabeth Vincent Metcalf, and Marian Prentice Huntington. After working for several railroad companies, Huntington moved to San Francisco in 1892 to join his uncle at the Southern Pacific Company. Following Collis Huntington's death in 1900, and after purchasing the late James de Barth Shorb's ranch in what is now San Marino, California, Henry shifted his business interests to the Los Angeles area. There, he organized the Pacific Electric Railway Company, the Huntington Land and Improvement Company, and other real estate and industrial development enterprises. He also purchased the Mt. Lowe Railway in 1900 and the Los Angeles and Pasadena Electric Railway Company in 1902. By 1903, Huntington owned more than 8,000 acres of land throughout Southern California. Although he had collected books and art earlier in life, by 1908 he was devoting more time to acquiring books, art, and manuscripts, as well as developing his ranch and gardens. In 1911, Huntington purchased the E. Dwight Church Library, which included Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, and also acquired the Gutenberg Bible at the Robert Hoe sale. In July 1913, he married Arabella Huntington in Paris, France. Arabella, the widow of Collis Huntington and an avid collector herself, had a son, Archer, from a previous relationship. In 1917, Huntington purchased the Bridgewater Library from John Francis Granville Scrope Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere; the collection included Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In 1919, Henry and Arabella Huntington signed a trust document establishing their private estate as a public institution. In 1922, Henry signed a deed transferring ownership of his books, manuscripts, art, and San Marino Ranch to the Library Trustees. He purchased Thomas Gainsborough's Blue Boy in 1921. Arabella Huntington died in September 1924. After an illness and surgery in New York City, Henry Huntington died in May 1927 at age 77. Henry and Arabella Huntington are buried on the property in San Marino. The Huntington opened to the public in 1928.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Edwin L. Lewis, November 1939. Gift of Louise Ward Watkins, July 1946. Gift of Collis Holladay, April 1967. Gift of Standard Felt Company, February 1968. Gift of Mrs. Collis H. Holladay, 1977-1981. Gift of Clifford Henry, May 1978. Gift of Edwards H. Metcalf, 1978-1992. Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, April 1981. Alhambra silver cup gift of Edwards H. Metcalf, November 1981. Gift of Collis H. Holladay, Jr., December 1981. Gift of Edwards H. Metcalf, January 1982, January 1985. Rapid Transit honors gift of Southern California Transit District, January 1982. Purchased from Alta California, March 1982. Gift of Pasadena Public Library, December 1985. Provenance unknown, in library as of January 1986. Miscellaneous poems gift of Collis H. Holladay, Jr., February 1992. Pacific Electric material transferred from Ephemera, September 1992. Gift of Frances Russell, March 2001.
Appraisal information:

During re-processing in July 2026, one linear foot of microfilm and photograph negatives, that were made at the Huntington, were deaccessioned because they were duplicates and their physical condition.

Custodial history:

The Henry Edwards Huntington papers is made up of several acquisitions given to the Library from a variety of people, mostly members of the Huntington, Holladay, and Metcalf families. The acquisitions have come to the library over a span of approximately 40 years. One acquisition with unknown provenance was added to the collection in 1986. Some may be missing from The Huntington's records.

Processing information:

The collection has been processed by multiple Huntington staff members and used by researchers for decades. Brooke M. Black began reprocessing the collection in 2021 and completed the work in 2026, retaining much of the original arrangement and many folder titles. "HEH" is used throughout the finding aid as an acronym for Henry E. Huntington. The Metcalf family material was kept together as they came in to the Huntington. The Maps and blueprints series was processed by Bart Chu in 2025 under the supervision of Brooke M. Black. Due to the nature of the collection and the re-processing, box and volume numbers may no be in consecutive order.

Arrangement:
Organized in eight series:
  1. Series 1: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, 1879-1966
  2. Series 2: Henry E. Huntington and family, 1640-1984 (bulk 1849-1977)
  3. Series 3: Correspondence, 1835-1953 (bulk 1890-1927)
  4. Series 4: Maps and blueprints, 1881-1960
  5. Series 5: Business records, 1864-1979 (bulk 1900-1930)
  6. Series 6: Photographs and photograph albums, approximately 1710-1980s (bulk 1900-1938)
  7. Series 7: Ephemera, 1842-1983 (bulk 1880-1931)
  8. Series 8: Objects, before 1860-1945
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California
Book collecting -- California
Book collectors -- California -- Archives
Businessmen -- California -- Archives
Gardens -- California -- San Marino
Land tenure -- California, Southern
Manuscripts -- Collectors and collecting -- California
Railroads -- California
Real property -- California, Southern
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906
Business records -- California
Family papers -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Newspaper clippings
Photographs
Professional papers -- California
Scrapbooks
Names:
Central Pacific Railroad Company
Duveen Brothers
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery -- History -- Sources
Huntington Botanical Gardens -- History -- Sources
Huntington Land and Improvement Company
Kentucky Central Railway Company
Los Angeles Railway
Market Street Railway
Miller & Lux
Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Pacific Electric Railway Company
Pacific Light and Power Corporation (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Southern Pacific Company
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
Standard Felt Company
Union Pacific Railroad Company
Holladay family
Huntington family
Metcalf family
Ord family
Barton, Loren Roberta, 1893-1975
Cohen, Alfred A. (Alfred Andrew), 1829-1887
Crocker, Charles, 1822-1888
Duveen, Joseph Duveen, Baron, 1869-1939
Farrand, Max, 1869-1945
Graham, Charles E.
Hale, George Ellery, 1868-1938
Hapgood, George D.
Hellman, Isaias W. (Isaias William), 1842-1920
Hertrich, William, 1878-1966
Hopkins, Mark, 1813-1878
Hunt, Myron, 1868-1952
Huntington, Arabella Duval, 1850 or 1851-1924
Huntington, Archer M. (Archer Milton), 1870-1955
Huntington, Collis Potter, 1821-1900
Mahl, William, 1843-1918
Mellon, Andrew W. (Andrew William), (1855-1937)
Metcalf, Edwards H. (Edwards Huntington)
Miles, George E.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837-1917
Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1856-1927
Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937
Smith, George D. (George Dallas), 1870-1920
Stanford, Leland, 1824-1893
Tweed, Charles H.
Wilson, Benjamin Davis, 1811-1878
San Gabriel Wine Company
Places:
California, Southern -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
California, Southern -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Oneonta (N.Y.)
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
San Marino (Calif.)--History--19th century--Sources
San Marino (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Brooke M. Black
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-24 14:16:31 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

NOT AVAILABLE. Boxes 67-69, 74: Audio materials are not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

RESTRICTED: Box 541: Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Edwards Huntington papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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