EAST AURORA, N.Y. — Elbert Hubbard and his wife were two of the more than 1,500 killed when Germany torpedoed the Lusitania in 1915. Have you heard his name before? After this, you will thank Hubbard for the coupon and more.
East Aurora sits a little more than 20 miles from Buffalo. It’s known for its adorable main street, the historic five and dime store, Vidler’s and, according to its website, “Where good neighbors gather.” Do you notice the font? This is where the story really begins — at the restored press shop at Roycroft Campus.
“What made Elbert Hubbard and the Roycroft famous is his story called, 'A Message to Garcia,' " said Alan Nowicki, director of programming at the Roycroft Campus.
Nowicki says “A Message to Garcia" was published in 1829.
“As we would say today, it went viral,” he added.
Nowicki says it went on to sell between 90-120 million copies. Hubbard instilled the idea of the American dream in the story, and immigrants used it as a blueprint on how to make it in their new home.
For the first time in 86 years, it’s being hand-printed, illuminated and hand bound.
“It's part of history, really," Nowicki said. “The last we looked, it was still number 25 on the all-time best-seller list.”
That was just the beginning.
“Roycroft ... this is essentially the birthplace of the American Arts and Crafts movement,” Nowicki said.
Nowicki says it was a philosophy that rebelled against the Industrial Revolution.
"So the idea of handmade, handcrafted, it has a lot of 21st century ideals to it," Nowicki said. "The idea of using your own natural resources on being sustainable."
The Roycroft symbol will be seen on anything made by a Roycroft Artesian. If you think it looks familiar, look at an Oreo cookie.
“Nabisco and the Roycrofts end up heading to court. And they settled out of court over a handshake and $1 with the idea that the Roycroft would never get into the cookie and biscuit-making business, and Nabisco would never get into the furniture and printing business," Nowicki said.
Having the Roycroft logo prominently placed on items started a trend we still use today. Nowicki says he was a master of marketing and promotion.
"He came up with the idea of a pyramid scheme; we won’t call it that,” Nowicki smiled.
While Hubbard was at Larkin Soap, which predates Roycroft, he came with the idea of buy one get one free, a premium item and marketing within products themselves.
“They started putting pictures of the president at the time, and he was surprised to see that people started trying to collect all of the cards to have a full set of presidents,” Nowicki continued.
“What amazes us is when you look at things like this chimney that was erected, you know, with no modern machinery,” said Curt Maranto, the executive director of the campus.
They’ve restored three buildings on the campus from the ground up. And they've made sure history can still be seen.
“There is the original floor to the blacksmith shop, or otherwise now known as the copper shop," Maranto said.
In the copper shop, artisans from around the nation sell their craft — including those hand-printed books.
There’s also the Roycroft Inn. It stands on the bones of Hubbard’s house, which he demolished to make space for the people visiting his campus.