Edited by Marie Via
Edited by Marjorie Searl

This lavishly illustrated catalogue accompanies Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery's exhibition of the same name, the first major assemblage of objects produced at the Roycroft community in upstate New York under the leadership of the charismatic Elbert Hubbard. A consummate entrepreneur, Hubbard successfully married capitalism with basic tenets of the Arts and Crafts ideology; the Roycrofters sought to personify the best aspects of the American character in their work, which is strong, spare and often surprisingly refined. Most of the 200 works in the exhibition are pictured, with colour photographs of the personalities and places figuring in the Roycroft's peculiar history bringing the community vividly to life. Essays in the catalogue include a sociological overview anchoring the Roycroft in its turn-of-the-century milieu; an examination of the history of the Roycroft shops; and an exploration of Hubbard's role in the creation of America's consumer culture through his trademark brand of advertising and promotion.