I'm really getting into Elbert Hubbard. Born in Bloomington Illinois in 1856, Hubbard is known primarily for founding the Roycrofters; an American wing of the Arts and Crafts movement based in Aurora, New York. Specializing in printing, book binding, leather goods and Mission furniture, the community saw fine craftsmanship as a social and spiritual pursuit.
Hubbard was an anarchist, socialist, and free thinker (with a sense of humour) who wasn't shy about sharing his opinions. In the front piece to his famous essay A Message to Garcia (1899), he explains how he wrote the brief work:
The thing leaped hot from my heart, written after a trying day, when I had been endeavouring to train some rather delinquent villagers to abjure the comatose state and get radioactive.
This "literary trifle" is a call to people everywhere to take initiative and do their work well, using all their faculties, leaving no loose ends for others to tidy up. The essay sold over 40 million copies and was printed in 37 languages. Hubbard beat Nike to their slogan, he was just a little more verbose.
Booklet on loan from the collection of JTH.
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