“Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Business Men” by Elbert Hubbard
This publication is not only scarce, but special. First of all, throughout are the introductory initials and tail pieces, plus the elaborate title page, all designed in color by Dard Hunter. Secondly, the Homes of Great Business Men, commonly for sale, dealt with one business man and were bound in boards or paper. Our “Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Business Men” is a compilation of the six previously published businessmen (Robert Owen, James Oliver, Stephen Girard, Mayer A Rothschild, Philip DArmour, and John Jacob Astor) and is handsomely bound in three quarter dark tan suede and marbled paper over boards. This volume XXIV – Done into a Book by the Roycrofters at Their Shop Which is in East Aurora, Erie County, New York – published in 1909 by the Roycrofters, measures approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall by 1 3/8 inches thick, has the title on the spine in gilt, and contains 221 pages of text and portraits of the seven of business greats (with the Armour biography enhanced by both Philip D. Armour and J. Goden Armour). Each section is uniformly formatted as follows: the portrait frontispiece, the half title (verso blank), one or more featured quotes (verso blank) and the beginning page of the text. The featured quotes give sound advice for then and now, such as: You benefit yourself only as you benefit humanity – James Oliver; Anybody can cut prices, but it takes brains to make a better article – Philip D. Armour; I do not value fortune. The love of labor is my sheet anchor. I work that I may forget, and forgetting, I am happy --- Steven Girard.
The book is a keystone for any serious Hubbard collector. The book’s spine labels, as well as the head and foot of the spine, are rubbed, and the cover’s corners a bit worn, but otherwise the book is in near fine condition.
A brief description of the business men addressed in the book is as follows:
• Robert Owen (1771 – 1858), a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, was one founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He is known for efforts to improve factory working conditions for his workers and promote experimental socialistic communities. [Wikipedia]
• James Oliver (1823 –1908) was an American inventor and industrialist best known for his creation of the South Bend Iron Works, which was reincorporated as the Oliver Farm Equipment Company after his death. Driven by the sales of his popular Oliver Chilled Plow, for which he registered 45 patents during his lifetime, the company grew to become one of the largest in Indiana and one of the world’s largest producers of farm plows and horse drawn equipment during the late 19th century. [Wikipedia]
• Stephen Girard (1750 – 1831) was a French and naturalized American, philanthropist and banker. He personally saved the U. S. government from financial collapse during the War of1812 and became one of the wealthiest people in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary economics.[Wikipedia]
• Mayer A Rothschild (1744 – 1812) was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a “founding father of international finance”, Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of “The Twenty Most Influential Business Men of All Time” in 2005.[Wikipedia]
• Philip D Armour (1832 – 1901) was an American meatpacking industrialist who founded the Chicago-based firm of Armour & Company. He made millions selling meat to the U. S. Army during the Civil War. Armour retired from business in 1899, and devoted himself to philanthropy in the Chicago area. [Wikipedia]
• John Jacob Astor (1763 – 1848) was a German-American business man, merchant, real estate mogul and investor who mainly made his fortune in a fur trade monopoly and by investing in real estate in and around New York City. [Wikipedia]
The illustrations above can indicate the contents and quality of the book. They show:
• The front cover
• The Title page
• The portrait of Robert Owen (a similar portrait appears with every “business man”)
• Two (2) typical 2-page spreads of text
Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist and philosopher. Hubbard is best known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, NY, an influential exponent of the Arts And Crafts Movement. Among Hubbard’s many publications were the fourteen-volume work Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great and the short publication A Message to Garcia. [Wikipedia]
Dard Hunter (1883 – 1966) was an American authority on printing, paper and papermaking, especially by hand, using sixteenth century tools and techniques. He is known for, among other things, the production of 200 copies of his book Old Papermaking, for which he prepared all aspects, i.e., writing the text, designing and casting the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound that book. He wrote other books on papermaking. He was a master in his field.
This publication is not only scarce, but special. First of all, throughout are the introductory initials and tail pieces, plus the elaborate title page, all designed in color by Dard Hunter. Secondly, the Homes of Great Business Men, commonly for sale, dealt with one business man and were bound in boards or paper. Our “Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Business Men” is a compilation of the six previously published businessmen (Robert Owen, James Oliver, Stephen Girard, Mayer A Rothschild, Philip DArmour, and John Jacob Astor) and is handsomely bound in three quarter dark tan suede and marbled paper over boards. This volume XXIV – Done into a Book by the Roycrofters at Their Shop Which is in East Aurora, Erie County, New York – published in 1909 by the Roycrofters, measures approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall by 1 3/8 inches thick, has the title on the spine in gilt, and contains 221 pages of text and portraits of the seven of business greats (with the Armour biography enhanced by both Philip D. Armour and J. Goden Armour). Each section is uniformly formatted as follows: the portrait frontispiece, the half title (verso blank), one or more featured quotes (verso blank) and the beginning page of the text. The featured quotes give sound advice for then and now, such as: You benefit yourself only as you benefit humanity – James Oliver; Anybody can cut prices, but it takes brains to make a better article – Philip D. Armour; I do not value fortune. The love of labor is my sheet anchor. I work that I may forget, and forgetting, I am happy --- Steven Girard.
The book is a keystone for any serious Hubbard collector. The book’s spine labels, as well as the head and foot of the spine, are rubbed, and the cover’s corners a bit worn, but otherwise the book is in near fine condition.
A brief description of the business men addressed in the book is as follows:
• Robert Owen (1771 – 1858), a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, was one founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He is known for efforts to improve factory working conditions for his workers and promote experimental socialistic communities. [Wikipedia]
• James Oliver (1823 –1908) was an American inventor and industrialist best known for his creation of the South Bend Iron Works, which was reincorporated as the Oliver Farm Equipment Company after his death. Driven by the sales of his popular Oliver Chilled Plow, for which he registered 45 patents during his lifetime, the company grew to become one of the largest in Indiana and one of the world’s largest producers of farm plows and horse drawn equipment during the late 19th century. [Wikipedia]
• Stephen Girard (1750 – 1831) was a French and naturalized American, philanthropist and banker. He personally saved the U. S. government from financial collapse during the War of1812 and became one of the wealthiest people in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary economics.[Wikipedia]
• Mayer A Rothschild (1744 – 1812) was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a “founding father of international finance”, Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of “The Twenty Most Influential Business Men of All Time” in 2005.[Wikipedia]
• Philip D Armour (1832 – 1901) was an American meatpacking industrialist who founded the Chicago-based firm of Armour & Company. He made millions selling meat to the U. S. Army during the Civil War. Armour retired from business in 1899, and devoted himself to philanthropy in the Chicago area. [Wikipedia]
• John Jacob Astor (1763 – 1848) was a German-American business man, merchant, real estate mogul and investor who mainly made his fortune in a fur trade monopoly and by investing in real estate in and around New York City. [Wikipedia]
The illustrations above can indicate the contents and quality of the book. They show:
• The front cover
• The Title page
• The portrait of Robert Owen (a similar portrait appears with every “business man”)
• Two (2) typical 2-page spreads of text
Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist and philosopher. Hubbard is best known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, NY, an influential exponent of the Arts And Crafts Movement. Among Hubbard’s many publications were the fourteen-volume work Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great and the short publication A Message to Garcia. [Wikipedia]
Dard Hunter (1883 – 1966) was an American authority on printing, paper and papermaking, especially by hand, using sixteenth century tools and techniques. He is known for, among other things, the production of 200 copies of his book Old Papermaking, for which he prepared all aspects, i.e., writing the text, designing and casting the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound that book. He wrote other books on papermaking. He was a master in his field.
This publication is not only scarce, but special. First of all, throughout are the introductory initials and tail pieces, plus the elaborate title page, all designed in color by Dard Hunter. Secondly, the Homes of Great Business Men, commonly for sale, dealt with one business man and were bound in boards or paper. Our “Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Business Men” is a compilation of the six previously published businessmen (Robert Owen, James Oliver, Stephen Girard, Mayer A Rothschild, Philip DArmour, and John Jacob Astor) and is handsomely bound in three quarter dark tan suede and marbled paper over boards. This volume XXIV – Done into a Book by the Roycrofters at Their Shop Which is in East Aurora, Erie County, New York – published in 1909 by the Roycrofters, measures approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall by 1 3/8 inches thick, has the title on the spine in gilt, and contains 221 pages of text and portraits of the seven of business greats (with the Armour biography enhanced by both Philip D. Armour and J. Goden Armour). Each section is uniformly formatted as follows: the portrait frontispiece, the half title (verso blank), one or more featured quotes (verso blank) and the beginning page of the text. The featured quotes give sound advice for then and now, such as: You benefit yourself only as you benefit humanity – James Oliver; Anybody can cut prices, but it takes brains to make a better article – Philip D. Armour; I do not value fortune. The love of labor is my sheet anchor. I work that I may forget, and forgetting, I am happy --- Steven Girard.
The book is a keystone for any serious Hubbard collector. The book’s spine labels, as well as the head and foot of the spine, are rubbed, and the cover’s corners a bit worn, but otherwise the book is in near fine condition.
A brief description of the business men addressed in the book is as follows:
• Robert Owen (1771 – 1858), a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, was one founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He is known for efforts to improve factory working conditions for his workers and promote experimental socialistic communities. [Wikipedia]
• James Oliver (1823 –1908) was an American inventor and industrialist best known for his creation of the South Bend Iron Works, which was reincorporated as the Oliver Farm Equipment Company after his death. Driven by the sales of his popular Oliver Chilled Plow, for which he registered 45 patents during his lifetime, the company grew to become one of the largest in Indiana and one of the world’s largest producers of farm plows and horse drawn equipment during the late 19th century. [Wikipedia]
• Stephen Girard (1750 – 1831) was a French and naturalized American, philanthropist and banker. He personally saved the U. S. government from financial collapse during the War of1812 and became one of the wealthiest people in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary economics.[Wikipedia]
• Mayer A Rothschild (1744 – 1812) was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a “founding father of international finance”, Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of “The Twenty Most Influential Business Men of All Time” in 2005.[Wikipedia]
• Philip D Armour (1832 – 1901) was an American meatpacking industrialist who founded the Chicago-based firm of Armour & Company. He made millions selling meat to the U. S. Army during the Civil War. Armour retired from business in 1899, and devoted himself to philanthropy in the Chicago area. [Wikipedia]
• John Jacob Astor (1763 – 1848) was a German-American business man, merchant, real estate mogul and investor who mainly made his fortune in a fur trade monopoly and by investing in real estate in and around New York City. [Wikipedia]
The illustrations above can indicate the contents and quality of the book. They show:
• The front cover
• The Title page
• The portrait of Robert Owen (a similar portrait appears with every “business man”)
• Two (2) typical 2-page spreads of text
Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist and philosopher. Hubbard is best known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, NY, an influential exponent of the Arts And Crafts Movement. Among Hubbard’s many publications were the fourteen-volume work Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great and the short publication A Message to Garcia. [Wikipedia]
Dard Hunter (1883 – 1966) was an American authority on printing, paper and papermaking, especially by hand, using sixteenth century tools and techniques. He is known for, among other things, the production of 200 copies of his book Old Papermaking, for which he prepared all aspects, i.e., writing the text, designing and casting the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound that book. He wrote other books on papermaking. He was a master in his field.