Introduction
" The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy Days" is an amusing and also satirical thesaurus, penciled by American author, author, and also philosopher Elbert Hubbard in 1914. Composed throughout the heyday of the Arts and Crafts activity, this thesaurus supplies an amusing as well as entertaining glimpse of social conventions, linguistic quirks, and social standards of the very early 20th century. The book was assembled and also created at the Roycroft printing store, East Aurora, New York, which was established by Hubbard as well as operated from 1895 to 1938.
Format and also Structure
The book exists as a dictionary, with entries arranged alphabetically. Each entrance is a brief, tongue-in-cheek definition in the type of a pithy statement, narrative, or witticism. Several entrances may be grouped together under a typical style or related terms. The definitions typically provide a satirical discourse on the period's social standards, conventions, as well as prejudices, along with mirroring the wit and ideology of Hubbard and his coworkers at the Roycroft neighborhood.
Notable Entries
Some significant entrances include:
- Absurd: "That which is contrary to the opinion of the majority".
- Art: "An article made as well as sold by individuals who know exactly how".
- Beauty: "A marketable asset; a thing much prized by those who do not have it".
- Chaperon: "A senior who is gendered and sterilized by time and experience therefore is allowed to [accompany] young ladies-- sometimes also in a closed carriage".
- Duty: "That which we anticipate others to do".
- Education: "That which discloses to the wise and also hides from the crazy their absence of understanding".
- Feminine: "The soft side of humanity that is frequently had".
- Grumble: "To protest against Heaven with smothered voice-- this is the sound a guy makes when he protests versus the plan of the furniture in his room".
Several access poke fun at the social stereotypes and also prejudices of the moment, such as those pertaining to gender roles, artistic searches, and also social behaviors.
Motifs as well as Commentary
A reoccuring style throughout the book is the disclosing of societal hypocrisies and also irrationalities, particularly those connecting to human communication, social standing, and also gender. Hubbard's definitions frequently mention the oppositions as well as absurdities of the age, showing that traditional wisdom and also societal norms are often anything however rational or affordable.
A number of the entrances likewise criticize self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and puritanical perspectives, often with a wry, sardonic tone. By doing this, the book mirrors the bigger social and also cultural context of the early 20th century, particularly the stress between brand-new, dynamic concepts and also conventional, conservative values.
Hubbard's Philosophy
Elbert Hubbard, as the founder of the Roycroft artisan area, was a leading advocate of the Arts as well as Crafts motion in America. This movement looked for to promote the value of craftsmanship, simpleness, as well as straightforward labor in a time of rapid automation and also mass production. The Roycroft Dictionary symbolizes several of the core ideas of this motion, specifically the value of imagination, wit, and essential reasoning, along with the being rejected of pretense, status-seeking, and also materialism.
Final thought
To conclude, "The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy Days" is a witty, ridiculing, and insightful discourse on the social as well as cultural norms of early 20th century America. With its amusing access as well as tongue-in-cheek interpretations, the book encourages viewers to question and also difficulty social conventions and also welcomes them to welcome the principles of sincerity, imagination, and essential thinking that underpinned the Arts and Crafts motion. The book acts as both an entertaining photo of a lost era as well as a pointer of the enduring power of humor and satire to expose the folly and pretension that often lies at the heart of human ventures.
The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy Days
A dictionary consisting of humorous and satirical definitions for various words, arranged alphabetically.
Author: Elbert Hubbard
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