Fun Furniture Fact #14: The Roycrofters

The Roycrofters and the Arts & Crafts Movement

”The Roycroft Community was in existence from 1894 to 1938, and produced some of the finest hand-crafted furniture, books, lamps and metal work of the Arts and Crafts Movement.”

The recent arrival of an original Gustav Stickley piece in our showroom spurred some interest in the Arts and Crafts movement and specifically, the Roycroft Community.

The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against the tastes of the Victorian era and the machine-made products of the Industrial Revolution. The Roycroft community was an embodiment of the Movement’s ideals.

Intrigued? Read on!

“The Roycroft Community, 1894-1938” by Hilary Davis

“The high quality and unique artistry of the Roycroft creations made them very popular. But it was the business acumen and charismatic personality of its founder, Elbert Hubbard, that made Roycroft one of the most successful artistic enterprises of the Arts and Crafts era…

He was intrigued by the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts Movement and went to England to visit William Morris and his Kelmscott Press. Hubbard returned to East Aurora in 1894 where he set up a print shop and published a magazine called “The Philistine” which contained his interpretations of the craftsman ideals. The magazine, along with other philosophical pamphlets and publications, became popular and helped to bring Hubbard and the Roycroft community to national attention while supporting their activities at the same time…

As Roycroft grew, Hubbard set up a community that was to be self-sufficient, based on pre-industrial agrarian ideals where artisans and their families lived and worked in healthy, idyllic conditions. Housing was provided in the form of Bungalows in the craftsman style. In the small shops, the emphasis was on hand-crafted items. The artisans worked in their own areas of expertise but were encouraged to apprentice themselves to other craftsmen to develop new skills. Pay was low but this was offset by the living and working conditions and the opportunity for creative artistic expression…

The success of the Roycroft community began to decline when Elbert Hubbard and his wife died on the Lusitania in 1915. Their son, Bert, managed to continue the business and even succeeded in getting some of the major department stores like Sears to carry the Roycroft furniture line. But the Great Depression and the general loss of interest by the public sealed the fate of the Roycrofters and the business was sold at auction in 1938. It continued at a much reduced capacity under several owners until it finally went bankrupt in 1987″ (Hilary Davis, http://www.arts-crafts.com/archive/hdavis.shtml).