Roycroft
After visiting England and meeting William Morris in 1892, Elbert Hubbard returned to Western New York and oepend a print shop in East Aurora to publish his personal writings. As they gained popularity he built the Roycroft Inn to house his many guests and furnished it with simple, straight-lined furniture made on his campus. He was joined by metalsmiths, leathersmiths, woodworkers, and bookbinders. Each craftsperson, known as “Roycrofters,” practiced pre-industrial production methods promoted by Morris. Hubbard died when the HMS Lusitania was struck by a GErman torpedo in May 1915. His son Bert continued the Roycroft campus, though it closed in 1938 as changing consumer tastes led to a decline in business. (Kremer, 2023)