In 1893, a successful businessman named Elbert Hubbard took leave from his workaday life, and settled in East Aurora, New York. He’d been a radical thinker, using unconventional means to increase sales, but deep down he was a writer at heart. Having travelled abroad, Hubbard saw old-world craftmanship and was inspired. In England, he visited and toured the works of William Morris, a craftsman who was a leading voice in the Arts & Crafts movement. Hubbard modeled his Roycrofters upon Morris & Co. , starting with printing, but moving into other arts as time passed. Back at home, he established a print shop on his estate, and befriended or hired artisans and craftsmen, creating a style called “Roycroft” — a sort of portmanteau of “Royal” and “Craft”, indicative of Hubbard’s aestheticism and marking his work as ‘fit for a king.’

Hubbard’s first love was of books. The Roycroft Print Shop considered bookprinting and binding a fine art, not just a way to make a buck, and devoted fine craftsmanship to leatherbound books on handmade paper. In a 1910 advertisement, they offered their services for printing “family bibles, marriage certificates, cherished poems, wills, old and well-loved books, legal papers, birth certificates, [and] letters.” Hubbard’s self-interest as a writer meant having a printshop was a great asset. He self-published many books, such as his well-received “Little Journeys” series documenting (somewhat fictionally) his travels in Europe. Hubbard was also behind a handful of magazines, such as the Philistine and the Fra. His style and wit were progressive and sharp, touching on the edge of social reform without becoming too dogmatic in his words. Hubbard offered advice on government, education, business, and art, in good humor and with intelligence.

Hubbard’s craftsmen were also adept in numerous other arts valued by the Arts & Crafts movement. He had workers in stained glass, weavers and seamstresses, metalworkers, and a team of carpenters. Hubbard’s Roycrofters were one of the largest designers of Mission-Style furniture in the United States. His business grew, his notoriety as a speaker and writer promoted his fame, and the Roycrofters became a moving force in early 20th century design and style. Hubbard, however, would not see the decline of the Arts & Crafts movement. Returning from a trip to Europe with his wife, Hubbard boarded the Lusitania in 1906 and died when it was sunk by a German submarine.

Roycroft’s shop was diligent in using the Roycroft sigil — seen above, a R in a circle with a double-cross at the top — on their works. Roycroft items are identifiable by the mark, for the most part; some smaller items, and some printed-for-hire books and papers were not marked. In my unscientific research, prices are higher than unmarked or mass-produced artifacts of similar age, but low for a well-known name and high craftsmanship. On eBay, most of the items for sale are either books or metal furnishings; be careful when searching, because sellers will include ‘roycroft’ in the listing as a style, although the furniture did not come from the Roycroft workshops. Because of the premium of the Roycroft name, there’s value in claiming an item came from Roycroftians: be careful when purchasing an item without the Roycroft sigil, unless you can be certain of the item’s authenticity.

See Also:

• Collecting Roycroft Copper
• The Roycroft Campus
  
• All Things Roycroftie
• Roycroft Books
• Catalog of Roycroft products, 1911

If you nearly lost fingers during the Linoleum Block Carving lessons in art class, you know a little bit about how printing blocks work. Both processes are far rarer today: offset presses and digital processing have ended the hand-setting of printing. While the process hails back hundreds of years, modern technologies made the development of type and other blocks simpler and faster. Linotype machines, huge typewriter-like mechanisms that melted lead and cast entire lines of text at a time, sped up production of text, and photographic processes made images and logos easier to produce. To create a single page, letters and images were laid out by hand, filled in with spacers and tightened with quoins, and sent to the press. When the printing was done, the frame was loosened and all the tiny pieces of the single page clattered out onto the table. The letters went back into their organized drawers or were remelted for the Linotype machine, and the images went into storage for possible reuse later. When printing was done, the only pieces recognizable from the page were the images, logos, designs, and borders.
In the late 1960s or early 1970s, many presses phased out the letterpress printing in favor of newer, simpler processes. The printing supplies were divided up and scattered, quite often into the hands of collectors. Type often followed the press, but the custom non-type blocks went elsewhere.

The miscellanous printer’s blocks could be a boon to collectors for their size and rarity. Because the blocks were often re-used, and if not they were stored poorly and possibly ended up in the dump just to get rid of them, specific printer’s blocks can be exceedingly rare. Remember, for it to have shown up in print, a corresponding block would have been produced. Every Ford dealership ad had a logo, every Harley-Davidson repair manual had images, every packaging sticker had to be cast in metal. For the thousands of copies printed, an extremely small number (possibly only one) of print blocks would have been produced. Memorabilia collectors often overlook printer’s blocks in favor of the printed end product, not realizing which one is the rarer of the two.

Print blocks are often quite small, making them easy to store and display. With a little ingenuity, mirrors can be used to make them a bit easier to read, as printing blocks are a ‘negative’ image in reverse. Most print blocks are also quite resilient. Designed to withstand several tons of pressure experienced during the printing process, very little can destroy them. They can, however, be scratched, and in some cases the metals used will corrode, resulting in an unattractive block. Depending on the severity, these could be overlooked. A sharp, readable printer’s block should have clearly defined surfaces, without rounding or dents, and the raised ‘ink’ surfaces should shine like a mirror when buffed.

In my experience, brewery and industrial equipment print blocks have sold quite well, but automobile brand and household products sell less often than I’d expect from the number of collectors. Collectors who focus on collecting a single brand, association, or product should not overlook printer’s blocks as a source for unique and rare additions to their collection.

Flow blue china is a favorite among collectors of fine china. The blue designs on white china flow over the design borders causing a blurred effect, which can be slight or pronounced, depending on the amount of flow. Not only are the pieces valuable, but are attractive when put on display. (Click on this link to see photos of flow blue china.)

Flow blue china is a result of the process of transfer printing designs onto china. Up until then, designs were hand painted onto the china, making them very expensive to produce. Cobalt oxide was used to achieve the beautiful blue designs on the china. The development of transfer printing technology meant the same design could be transferred onto many pieces instead of being painstakingly recreated by hand for each piece, making the china more affordable to the middle classes.

Flow blue china first hit the market in the 1830’s. There is some disagreement whether the flow blue technique was unplanned or intentional. Some say that chloride was left in the kiln, accidentally causing the cobalt to flow during firing. Others say that it was an intentional design. Whatever the origin, flow blue china soon became immensely popular, particularly in the United States. The style remained popular until around 1910.

If you want to build a collection of flow blue china, invest in a good guide with plenty of pictures to help identify patterns, such as Gaston’s Flow Blue China Comprehensive Guide. Some sellers will advertise china as flow blue, when it is actually just ordinary china with a blue design. Also, it’s helpful to have a good idea of the value of a piece you’re considering, since prices for flow blue china can vary. For example, a salad plate might be worth about $90, while a soup tureen from the same pattern can fetch $1400.

Some of the top names in collectible flow blue china are Grindley, Johnson Brothers and Meakin, although many potteries produced flow blue. Look for the maker’s mark and pattern on the bottom of the piece. Beware of china that has been made in the attractive flow blue style but is actually quite new. This article from the Flow Blue International Collectors’ Club gives tips for avoiding these newer pieces.