White Hyacinths (1907) contains a beautiful, illustrated title page by Dard Hunter. It features the stylized Roycrofter font, along with a vine and floral motif. The tailpieces and initials throughout the book have the same green and white motif.

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This work contains two preachments—or unwelcome or tedious sermons—by Elbert Hubbard, The City of Tagaste and A Dream and a Prophecy (1900). This full page illustration was hand-illuminated, or decorated, by Anna Paine and contains her signature at the beginning of the text. The leaves and flower are typical of Roycroft design, but the yellow birds are a nice addition.

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Alice Moore Hubbard published Woman’s Work (1908) to disseminate her views on women’s suffrage and guaranteed stipends for mothers. Among her many duties for the Roycrofters, Alice was the general manager of the Print Shop. The beautifully designed pages of this book are the work of Dard Hunter.

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Little Journeys, a series of books by Hubbard, was available in a range of binding styles and prices, with the most affordable produced in greatest numbers. Displayed here: the most expensive, Joaquin Miller (1903), with leather and marbled paper cover; the mid-range Pericles (1903), bound in cloth and paper cover; and the most affordable Plato (1908), with a cover made of unsupported printed-paper.

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The King of the Golden River (1900) is another excellent sample of hand-illumination by the Roycrofters. This particular work was illuminated by Gertrude Hart and contains her signature on the limitation statement. The initials and colophon are also hand colored.

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The Essays of Elia (1899), bound in suede leather, boasts a heraldic cover design created by W. W. Denslow, who also illustrated The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The chapter headings are graced with charming hand-colored initials. This book, number 318 in an edition of 970, is also signed by Elbert Hubbard.

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The Essay on Self-Reliance (1908) is a fine example of the high quality paper that many Roycroft books used. One of the Roycrofters, William Joseph “Dard” Hunter became a leading authority on handmade paper. Each sheet contains a watermark featuring the “Roycroft” name and printer’s device of a seahorse and Roycroft orb.

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