Elbert Hubbard Scrap Book — Roycroft 1923

📖 Elbert Hubbard’s Scrap Book by Elbert Hubbard (1923, The Roycrofters / Wm. H. Wise & Co.) — a curated collection of quotes, passages, and verses gathered during Hubbard’s lifetime of reading, compiled posthumously by the Roycrofters. This copy features the original string-tied binding and shows age-appropriate wear consistent with a century-old production.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915), American writer, publisher, and founder of the Roycroft artisan community
• Publisher: The Roycrofters, East Aurora, NY / Wm. H. Wise & Co., New York City
• Year: 1923 (first edition, first printing)
• Format: Hardcover with string-tied binding, no dust jacket
• Pages: 228 + xii preliminary | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era)
• Condition: Very Good minus — full report below

THE STORY

Elbert Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, and philosopher who founded the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, in 1895. The Roycrofters were an influential exponent of the Arts and Crafts movement, producing handsome leather-bound books, hammered copper goods, furniture, and pottery — all bearing the Roycroft name. Hubbard edited and published two magazines, The Philistine and The Fra, and was known for his homespun philosophy and popular lectures. He and his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, died aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915.

The Scrap Book is a posthumous collection of “inspired and inspiring selections, gathered during a life time of discriminating reading for his own use,” as the subtitle states. It draws from poetry, philosophy, classical literature, and Hubbard’s own writings, arranged in the scrapbook style that was popular in the early 20th century.

THIS EDITION

This 1923 first edition was printed and made into a book by The Roycrofters at their shops in East Aurora, Erie County, New York, and published by Wm. H. Wise & Co. of New York City. A separate 1923 printing was produced by The American Book-Stratford Press in New York City for the same publisher — the Roycrofters printing is the more collectible of the two, as it was produced at the original Roycroft workshops. The book features the characteristic Roycroft production quality: Art Nouveau-style decorative elements, a stylized triangular emblem on the cover, decorative drop-cap initials in reddish-orange ink throughout, and the signature string-tied binding on semi-limp cloth covers. A frontispiece photograph shows Hubbard in his workshop. The companion volume, The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard, includes an introduction by Alice Moore Hubbard.

COVER ART & DESIGN

The brown paper-over-boards cover displays the title in a decorative red serif font with a red triangular Art Nouveau emblem below. The original string-tied binding is present and intact. Interior pages feature decorative drop-cap initials in reddish-orange ink, classic serif typography, and justified text set in narrow columns. The pages show significant tanning consistent with early 20th-century paper stock. Quotes and passages are formatted as indented blocks with author attributions, including selections from William Watson, Richard Cecil, Izaak Walton, and others.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Hubbard’s Roycroft community was a leading producer of Mission-style and Arts and Crafts products, influential in American design history
• The Scrap Book was published posthumously — Hubbard died aboard the RMS Lusitania in 1915, making this an eight-years-later memorial publication
• The string-tied binding is an original Roycroft production feature, characteristic of their handcraft approach and found on their magazines and early publications
• First edition, first printing — collectible for Roycroft, Americana, and Arts and Crafts collectors

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First edition, first printing, published in 1923 by Wm. H. Wise & Co. in collaboration with The Roycrofters. A later reprint was issued by Wm. H. Wise & Co. in 1955.

What condition is it in? Very Good minus — full report below.

Is the string binding original? Yes. The string-tied, non-adhesive binding is an original Roycroft production feature, not a repair.

FOR COLLECTORS

This is a first edition of a posthumous Hubbard publication, printed by the Roycrofters at their East Aurora shops. The string-tied binding, Art Nouveau cover design, and decorative interior typography are hallmarks of Roycroft production. Priced at $34, it sits at the lower end of the market for this title — first editions on AbeBooks range from $20 to $150 depending on condition.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Very Good- (VG-)

Cover & Spine: The original cardstock/paper-over-boards cover shows significant rubbing and generalized surface wear, consistent with the age of a 1920s scrap-style publication. The original tie-binding is present and intact.

Dust Jacket: N/A

Text Block & Pages: Significant tanning throughout the paper, consistent with early 20th-century pulp-adjacent stocks used in this edition. Pages remain legible and structurally sound.

Binding: The binding is structurally sound with the characteristic looseness typical of this style of string-tied, non-adhesive binding.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-09-18

Shelf: 7-1-b

1 in stock