Head, Heart, and Hand

Book excerpt: Head, Heart and Hand is published to accompany the 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. Although clearly influenced by the work of European designers, the Roycrofters sought to personify the best aspects of American character in their work, which is strong, spare, and often surprisingly refined.