Hubbard, Elbert

Hubbard, Elbert,

1856–1915, American author and publisher, b. Bloomington, Ill. He founded (1895) an artist colony in East Aurora, N.Y., and established there the Roycroft Press, emulating William Morris's idealistic experiment in fine books and hand craftsmanship. An ardent believer in rugged individualism, Hubbard edited the inspirational Philistine magazine and was the author of the essay "A Message to Garcia" (1899), a lesson in duty and efficiency based on an incident in the Spanish-American War. Hubbard died on the Lusitania, which was sunk in the Irish Sea by a German submarine on May 7, 1915.

Hubbard, Elbert

(1856–1915) writer, craft colonist; born in Bloomington, Ill. After years as a successful businessman, he established in 1893 the Roycrofters, a craft community in East Aurora, New York. Following the ideals of William Morris, the artisans produced mission style furniture and art nouveau household accessories in metal and leather. Hubbard edited the Roycrofters monthly, The Philistine, in which appeared "A Message to Garcia" (1899), embodying his ideas on a community of workers.