Elbert Hubbard

Elbert Hubbard – Life, Work, and Memorable Quotes

Learn about Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915): American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher behind A Message to Garcia and the Roycroft movement. Explore his biography, philosophy, achievements, and enduring quotes.

Introduction

Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was a multifaceted American writer, publisher, artist, and social thinker. little journeys essays, as well as for founding the Roycroft artisan community, which embodied the American Arts and Crafts movement.

Hubbard’s life combined creative ambition, provocative ideas, and a flair for communication. His legacy is still remembered through his writings, his aesthetic community, and his quotable wisdom.

Early Life and Family

Elbert Hubbard was born on June 19, 1856 in Bloomington, Illinois, to Dr. Silas Hubbard and Juliana Frances Read.

His father was a physician whose earnings never exceeded modest levels, and Elbert grew up in relatively humble surroundings.

He had several siblings, though many died young; Elbert was the only surviving son.

Youth, Education, and Early Career

Hubbard did not follow a conventional academic path. In his youth, he worked a variety of jobs including as a soap salesman, reporter, and in advertising.

By the mid-1870s, he entered the world of business, becoming involved with the Larkin Soap Company and in direct-mail marketing innovations.

While he briefly attended Harvard for one semester, his primary education and influence came from self-education, reading, and practical endeavors.

In his late 30s, he transitioned more fully into writing, publishing, and artistic enterprise.

Career, Projects & Achievements

The Roycroft Movement

Inspired by the English Arts & Crafts movement and William Morris’s Kelmscott Press, Hubbard founded the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, around 1895.

Through Roycroft, Hubbard attempted to revive craftsmanship, aesthetic integrity, and holistic artistic life in contrast to mass industrial production.

He published two periodicals: The Philistine and later The Fra, in which he wrote essays, satire, and social commentary. Little Journeys—short biographical essays combining fact, reflection, and stylistic flair.

A Message to Garcia and Popular Fame

One of Hubbard’s most famous works is the essay “A Message to Garcia” (1899), published in The Philistine.

This essay became extraordinarily popular: reprinted widely in business, military, and leadership circles—by some accounts tens of millions of copies during his lifetime.

The reach of A Message to Garcia made Hubbard’s name known far beyond literary or craft circles.

Other Writings and Perspectives

Hubbard authored works on health, wealth, life philosophy, business ethics, and religion. Health and Wealth, Love, Life and Work, The Mintage, and philosophical essays like Jesus Was an Anarchist.

He expressed a somewhat eclectic ideology: while advocating craftsmanship, social responsibility, and moral earnestness, he also flirted with ideas of individualism, anarchism, and reform.

Hubbard also gave lectures and traveled, extending his influence.

Personality, Philosophy & Influence

Elbert Hubbard was charismatic, outspoken, and audacious in ambition. He often used epigrams, humor, and sharp aphorisms to communicate his convictions. work, integrity, self-reliance, loyalty, and the meaningful life.

Through Roycroft, he sought to model a way of life: that art, craft, and commerce could be integrated, and that the material and spiritual should support one another.

However, Hubbard was not without contradictions. Critics have pointed out questionable practices—such as claiming books were hand-bound when machinery was used, and overselling “signed limited editions.”

His death was dramatic: he and his wife died when the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, while crossing the Atlantic.

Hubbard’s legacy lives in his widespread aphorisms, the Roycroft campus (as a historic site), and his influence on American craft and small press culture.

Famous Quotes of Elbert Hubbard

Here are selected quotes that reflect Hubbard’s voice—witty, concise, motivational, and sometimes blunt:

• “Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed — there’s so little competition.”

• “Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”

• “The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.”

• “Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep.”

• “If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.”

• “There is no failure except in no longer trying.”

• “Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”

• “A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience.”

• “We are punished by our sins, not for them.”

• “Life is just one damned thing after another.”

Each of these distills Hubbard’s conviction about effort, integrity, resilience, and facing life candidly.

Lessons from Elbert Hubbard

From examining Hubbard’s life and thought, several lessons emerge:

1. Combine creativity and enterprise
   Hubbard believed meaningful work could be both artistic and commercially viable when integrity is upheld.

2. Initiative matters
   Through A Message to Garcia, he emphasized that those who accept responsibility and act without excuse often succeed.

3. Simplicity and discipline
   Many of his essays and quotes stress doing what should be done daily, focusing on what truly matters.

4. Loyalty and consistency count
   He valued steadfastness and faithfulness over clever tactics or opportunism.

5. Words matter — cultivate communication
   Hubbard mastered aphorisms and rhetoric to reach a wide audience. He shows how clarity and brevity can amplify influence.

6. Live with boldness and accept risk
   His life (and death) reflect a willingness to take dramatic stands, though not without controversy or contradiction.

7. Legacy is built through small acts and persistent vision
   The Roycroft community, his writings, and the survival of his ideas suggest that incremental creative commitments can endure.

Conclusion

Elbert Hubbard was a singular American figure: a writer, craftsman, publisher, and provocateur who sought to marry art, ethics, and entrepreneurship. His little journeys and popular essays spoke to everyday ambition and moral aspiration, while the Roycroft movement embodied a vision of beauty and handcrafted integrity. Though imperfect and contentious, his life invites reflection on how we work, how we speak, and how we leave what matters behind.