Elbert Green Hubbard was an influential American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher who became a central figure in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, Hubbard initially found commercial success as a traveling salesman for the Larkin Soap Company. However, his career took a distinct turn as he transitioned into publishing and craftsmanship, establishing himself as a prominent cultural voice at the turn of the twentieth century.\n\nHubbard is most famous for founding the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York. This community became a major hub for the Arts and Crafts movement, promoting traditional craftsmanship, bookbinding, and design in reaction to industrial mass production. Through his Roycroft Press, Hubbard published numerous works, including his own extensive fourteen-volume series, Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, which profiled historical figures, and his highly popular inspirational essay, A Message to Garcia.\n\nHubbard's life and career were cut short in 1915. He and his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, were passengers aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland. Despite his sudden death, Hubbard's legacy endured through the Roycroft community's lasting impact on American design and his widely read philosophical and motivational writings.
