Roycroft
Encyclopedia
Roycroft was a reformist community of craft
workers and artists which formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement
in the USA. Elbert Hubbard
founded the community in 1895 in the village of East Aurora
, Erie County, New York
, near Buffalo
. Participants were known as Roycrofters. The work and philosophy of the group, often referred to as the Roycroft movement, had a strong influence on the development of American architecture and design in the early 20th century.
The name "Roycroft" was chosen after the printers, Samuel and Thomas Roycroft, who made books in London
from about 1650-1690. And beyond this, the word roycroft had a special significance to Elbert Hubbard, meaning King's Craft. In guild
s of early modern Europe, king's craftsmen were guild members who had achieved a high degree of skill and therefore made things for the King. The Roycroft insignia was borrowed from the monk Cassidorius, a 13th century bookbinder and illuminator.
Elbert Hubbard had been influenced by the ideas of William Morris
on a visit to England. He was unable to find a publisher for his book Little Journeys, so inspired by Morris's Kelmscott Press, decided to set up his own private press
to print the book himself, founding Roycroft Press.
His championing of the Arts and Crafts approach attracted a number of visiting craftspeople to East Aurora, and they formed a community of printers, furniture makers, metalsmiths, leathersmiths, and bookbinders. A quotation from John Ruskin
formed the Roycroft "creed":
The inspirational leadership of Hubbard attracted a group of almost 500 people by 1910, and millions more knew of him through his essay A Message to Garcia
.
In 1915 Hubbard and his wife, noted suffragette
Alice Moore Hubbard
, died in the sinking of RMS Lusitania
, and the Roycroft community went into a gradual decline. Proceeding Elbert's death, his son Bert took over the business. In attempts to keep his father's business afloat, Bert proposed selling Roycroft’s furniture through major retailers. Sears & Roebuck eventually agreed to carry the furniture, but this was only a short lived success.
14 original Roycroft buildings are located in the area of South Grove and Main Street in East Aurora. Known as the "Roycroft Campus", this rare survival of an art colony
was awarded National Historic Landmark
status in 1986.,,
The Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum, housed in the George and Gladys Scheidemantel House
, in East Aurora
is the main collection and research centre for the work of the Roycrofters.
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
workers and artists which formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
in the USA. Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
founded the community in 1895 in the village of East Aurora
East Aurora, New York
East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. The Village of East Aurora lies in the eastern half of the Town of Aurora.The population was 6,673 at the 2000 census...
, Erie County, New York
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
, near Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Participants were known as Roycrofters. The work and philosophy of the group, often referred to as the Roycroft movement, had a strong influence on the development of American architecture and design in the early 20th century.
History
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from about 1650-1690. And beyond this, the word roycroft had a special significance to Elbert Hubbard, meaning King's Craft. In guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s of early modern Europe, king's craftsmen were guild members who had achieved a high degree of skill and therefore made things for the King. The Roycroft insignia was borrowed from the monk Cassidorius, a 13th century bookbinder and illuminator.
Elbert Hubbard had been influenced by the ideas of William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
on a visit to England. He was unable to find a publisher for his book Little Journeys, so inspired by Morris's Kelmscott Press, decided to set up his own private press
Private press
Private press is a term used in the field of book collecting to describe a printing press operated as an artistic or craft-based endeavor, rather than as a purely commercial venture...
to print the book himself, founding Roycroft Press.
His championing of the Arts and Crafts approach attracted a number of visiting craftspeople to East Aurora, and they formed a community of printers, furniture makers, metalsmiths, leathersmiths, and bookbinders. A quotation from John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
formed the Roycroft "creed":
- "A belief in working with the head, hand and heart and mixing enough play with the work so that every task is pleasurable and makes for health and happiness".
The inspirational leadership of Hubbard attracted a group of almost 500 people by 1910, and millions more knew of him through his essay A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia is a best-selling inspirational essay written in 1899 by Elbert Hubbard that has been made into two motion pictures.Felix Shay, Hubbard's personal assistant, wrote:...
.
In 1915 Hubbard and his wife, noted suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
Alice Moore Hubbard
Alice Moore Hubbard
Alice Moore Hubbard was a noted American feminist, writer, and, with her husband, Elbert Hubbard was a leading figure in the Roycroft movement – a branch of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England with which it was contemporary.Born Alice Luann Moore in Wales, New York to Welcome Moore and Melinda...
, died in the sinking of RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
, and the Roycroft community went into a gradual decline. Proceeding Elbert's death, his son Bert took over the business. In attempts to keep his father's business afloat, Bert proposed selling Roycroft’s furniture through major retailers. Sears & Roebuck eventually agreed to carry the furniture, but this was only a short lived success.
14 original Roycroft buildings are located in the area of South Grove and Main Street in East Aurora. Known as the "Roycroft Campus", this rare survival of an art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
was awarded National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
status in 1986.,,
The Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum, housed in the George and Gladys Scheidemantel House
George and Gladys Scheidemantel House
George and Gladys Scheidemantel House is a historic home located at East Aurora in Erie County, New York. It is a locally distinctive example of the Arts and Crafts movement style of architecture built in 1910. It is a two story, frame, bungalow that combines elements of the American Foursquare...
, in East Aurora
East Aurora, New York
East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. The Village of East Aurora lies in the eastern half of the Town of Aurora.The population was 6,673 at the 2000 census...
is the main collection and research centre for the work of the Roycrofters.
See also
- American craftAmerican craftAmerican craft is an entity of the American contribution to the family of artistic practices conducted by independent studio artists. In this case Studio Craft artists work specifically with traditional craft materials and/or processes such as wood, woodworking or furniture making, glass or...
- Arden, DelawareArden, DelawareArden is a village and art colony in New Castle County, Delaware, in the United States, founded in 1900 as a radical Georgist single-tax community by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price. The village occupies about 160 acres, with half kept as open land. According to the 2010 Census,...
- Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
- Gustav StickleyGustav StickleyGustav Stickley was a manufacturer of furniture and the leading proselytizer for the American Arts and Crafts movement, an extension of the British Arts and Crafts movement.-Biography:...
- Rose Valley, PennsylvaniaRose Valley, PennsylvaniaRose Valley is a small but historic borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its area is and the population was 944 at the 2000 census. It was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek drove manufacturing in the nineteenth century...
- Roy CroftRoy CroftRoy Croft is a poet frequently credited with writing a poem titled "Love" and beginning "I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you."...
Further reading
- Champney, Freeman (1968) Art & glory; the story of Elbert Hubbard Crown Publishers, New York, OCLC 274494
- Hamilton, Charles Franklin (1973) As Bees in Honey Drown: Elbert Hubbard and the Roycrofters A.S. Barnes, South Brunswick, ISBN 0-498-01052-X
- Cathers, David M. (1981) Furniture of the American Arts and Crafts Movement: Stickley and Roycroft Mission Oak New American Library, New York, ISBN 0-453-00397-4
- Via, Marie and Searl, Marjorie (eds.) (1994) Head, Heart, and Hand: Elbert Hubbard and the Roycrofters University of Rochester Press, Rochester, N.Y., ISBN 1-878822-43-8
- Turgeon, Kitty and Rust, Robert (1998) The Arts and Crafts Home Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, New York, ISBN 1-56799-455-5
- Rust, Robert et al. (2000) The Roycroft Campus (Images of America series) Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, ISBN 0-7524-1344-9
External links
- Roycroft Organization
- Roycroft Inn, East Aurora
- The Roycroft Community 1894-1938 by Hilary Davis
- The Arts & Crafts Movement: People: Elbert Hubbard
- The Roycroft Campus
- Roycrofters At Large Association
- The Winterthur Library Overview of an archival collection on the Roycrofters