The Roycrofters
waste basket, #023
East Aurora, New York
birdseye maple
signed with carved orb
12"sq x 13"h

Recoated original finish. Some drips visible. Structurally sound.

Biography: In 1895, Elbert Hubbard, an Illinois native and socialist-leaning traveling salesman, founded the Roycroft reformist community in East Aurora, New York, just outside of Buffalo. The members of this settlement came to be called Roycrofters. Although the appellation derived from two printers in the group, Samuel and Thomas Roycroft, Hubbard chose it intentionally to connote “King’s Craft.” He wanted to create an updated version of the guilds of early modern Europe with skilled craftspeople of varied expertise. Hubbard had originally devised the concept for the Roycroft community on a visit to England, where he was profoundly influenced by Arts and Crafts pioneer William Morris. Upon returning to America, Hubbard followed Morris’ lead and established the Roycroft Press to release his book-length manuscript, Little Journeys (1916), which is a compilation of imagined visits to the men and women who shaped society over time. Lured by Hubbard’s Arts and Crafts message, various workers gravitated to East Aurora, including not just printers and bookbinders, but furniture makers, leathersmiths, and metalsmiths. The Roycrofters sought to work with their hands, head, and heart in harmony. They mixed play with work to make labor less taxing. By 1910, there were nearly 500 active Roycroft members producing all manner of items. In 1915, Elbert Hubbard and his wife Alice died as passengers aboard the RMS Lusitania, the ocean liner which was sunk by a German torpedo during World War I. This also marked the beginning of the end of the Roycroft community. The Hubbards’ son Bert took over for a while, but despite brokering an agreement for Sears & Roebuck to carry Roycroft furniture, the community soon became insolvent. Today 14 of the original buildings from the Roycroft Campus remain in East Aurora and the group’s impact on American design and craft continues to be felt. In 1986, the Roycroft Campus was designated a National Historic Landmark and educational tours are now regularly offered to visitors.