Roycroft was a reformist community of

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

workers and artists which formed part of the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

in the United States.

Elbert Hubbard Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he had early success as a traveling salesman for the Larkin Soap Company. Hubbard is known best as th ...

founded the community in 1895, in the village of

East Aurora, New York East Aurora is a village (New York), village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora, Erie County, New York, Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per ...

, 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.

History

The name "Roycroft" was chosen after the printers, Samuel and Thomas Roycroft, who made books in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from about 1650–1690. The word ''roycroft'' had a special significance to Elbert Hubbard. Hubbard believed "''roycroft"'' meant "''king's craft"'' in French. In

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

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

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

, a 13th-century bookbinder and illuminator. Elbert Hubbard had been influenced by the ideas of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

on a visit to England. He was unable to find a publisher for his book ''Little Journeys'', so inspired by Morris's

Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published 53 books in 66 volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many books were illus ...

, decided to set up his own

private press Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on Book design ...

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 (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

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''. The Roycroft Press is also credited for publishing partner publications, such as Carl Lothar Bredemeier's ''The Buffalo Magazine for Arts'' in 1920. In 1915 Hubbard and his wife, noted

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

Alice Moore Hubbard, died in the sinking of RMS ''Lusitania'', and the Roycroft community went into a gradual decline. Following 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. Fourteen 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 colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

was awarded

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

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.

Roycroft Inn

Part of the Roycroft Campus, the Inn is a hotel with a restaurant and lobby bar across the street from the primary buildings. It first opened for visitors in 1905 and in 1986, as part of the Roycroft Campus, became a

. A nine year restoration was completed in 1995, with funding from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation; the total cost was $8 million. At that time, the facility re-opened. The Salon area contains restored murals by Roycroft artist Alexis Jean Fournier.https://roycroftinn.com/our-history/, Our History

Gallery

Image:Visitor Center, Roycroft Campus, East Aurora, NY.jpg, Visitor Center, June 2019 Image:Aurora Town Hall - former Roycroft Chapel - Dec 2008 - 01.jpg, Front of the Chapel Image:Roycroftrestaurant.JPG, Roycroft Inn Image:Aurora Town Hall - former Roycroft Chapel - Dec 2008 - 02.jpg, Side of the Chapel Image:RoycroftCrest.jpg, The Roycroft Renaissance Logo Image:RoycroftCampusWelcome.jpg, Roycroft Campus welcome sign from the 1990s Image:RoycroftSign.JPG, Sign about Elbert Hubbard Image:Roycroftsign2.jpg, Sign with Roycroft crest and lettering Image:Portrait of Elbert Hubbard, Roycroft Campus Visitor Center.jpg, Portrait of Elbert Hubbard at the Visitor Center

Famous Roycrofters

*Arthur H. Cole (1899–?), coppersmith * Jerome Connor (1874–1943), sculptor of Elbert Hubbard statue, North Wind on the Roycroft Chapel, and others. *

William Wallace Denslow William Wallace Denslow (; May 5, 1856 – March 29, 1915) was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. Dens ...

(1856–1915), illustrator of ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...

''. * Alexis Jean Fournier (1865–1948), American painter, including 20 murals at the Roycroft Inn. * William Joseph "Dard" Hunter (1883–1966), American authority on making paper by hand, as well as printing using handmade type. He published a number of books on traditional, pre-industrial, techniques for making paper. *Walter Jennings, coppersmith and jeweler *Karl Kipp (1882–1954), worked in the bindery in 1908 and later established the Roycroft Copper Shop. *Fredrick Kranz, created find leather goods. *Victor Toothaker (1882–1932), coppersmith *Samuel Warner (1871–1947), book designer, artist and illustrator for many Roycroft books.

References

External links

Roycroft Organization

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20161109075520/http://www.arts-crafts.com/archive/hdavis.shtml The Roycroft Community 1894–1938 by Hilary Davis
The Arts & Crafts Movement: People: Elbert Hubbard

Roycrofters At Large Association
Overview of an archival collection on the Roycrofters *Roycrofters Collection: Books published at the Roycrofter colony founded by Elbert Hubbard, (97 items). From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress

Furniture Items from the 1906 Roycroft Catalog
{{Registered Historic Places American artist groups and collectives 19th-century art groups Arts and Crafts movement History of Buffalo, New York History of furniture American furniture makers 1895 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1895 National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Erie County, New York Tourist attractions in Erie County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, New York