Elbert Hubbard "Philosophy" & "Note Book" — Wise & Co. Pair, 1927/1930

Two volumes collecting the aphorisms, epigrams, and short essays of Elbert Hubbard — the philosopher-craftsman who founded the Roycroft community at East Aurora, New York, and became one of the most widely read American writers of the early twentieth century before his death aboard the Lusitania in May 1915. The Philosophy of Elbert Hubbard (1927) is the larger of the two, bound in tan leather worked in an all-over blind-tooled design: a dense floral and scrollwork border surrounds a central lozenge panel, with a gilt-stamped title cartouche at center and gilt lettering on the spine. The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard (1930) is the slimmer volume, bound in forest-green cloth with the title blind-stamped to the front board and the Roycroft orb-and-cross device below. Both spines carry the Wise & Co. imprint at the tail.

The copyright page of The Philosophy reads "Copyright, 1927 / By / Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc." The copyright page of The Note Book reads "Copyright, 1930 / By / The Roycrofters" — the Roycroft community retained rights over Hubbard's writings while Wise held the commercial publishing and distribution arrangement. The front free endpaper of The Philosophy carries a period ink inscription dated April 4th, 1955.

CONDITION

Good overall with age-appropriate wear to both volumes. The Philosophy leather shows chipping and edge loss along the head and tail of the spine, scuffing to the tooled cover surface, and light soiling to the board edges; the binding remains structurally sound and the tooling reads clearly. The Note Book cloth binding is Good with light corner and edge wear; boards are tight.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Lot: 2 volumes
• The Philosophy of Elbert Hubbard — blind-tooled tan leather binding; larger volume
• The Philosophy copyright: 1927, Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc.
• The Philosophy dimensions: approx. 8¾" H × 5¾" W × 1¼" D
• The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard — forest-green cloth hardcover; slimmer volume
• The Note Book copyright: 1930, The Roycrofters
• The Note Book dimensions: approx. 7¾" H × 5¼" W × ¾" D
• Publisher spine imprint (both volumes): Wise & Co.
• Front endpaper inscription (Philosophy): period ink inscription, April 4th, 1955