Finding Aid for the Harry Persons Taber Papers, circa 1875-1947, undated

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, Harry Persons Taber Papers, Central Library: Rare Book Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.

Acquisition Information

Harry Persons Taber donated his papers to the Grosvenor Library (a precursor to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library), in the late-1940s.

Processing Information

Collection processed by: Amy Vilz, April 2009

Finding aid encoded by: Amy Vilz, October 2010

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The Harry Persons Taber Papers are open for research.

Use Restrictions

See librarian for information on reproducing materials from this collection, including photocopies, digital camera images, or digital scans, as well as copyright restrictions that may pertain to these materials.

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Biographical History

Printer, author, and chemist, Harry Persons Taber was born in 1865 in East Aurora, New York. Although he is best known for his work as editor of the Roycroft journal The Philistine, Taber's professional life took many turns. Before joining Hubbard in 1895, he served as a journalist at the Denver Republican newspaper from 1892-1894.

Controversy surrounded Taber's relationship with Hubbard and the circumstances of the founding of the Roycroft Shop and The Philistine. The Stephen Crane Encyclopedia describes the situation as follows:

Taber is credited as editor in the July through December issues and as copyright holder from the September through January 1896 issues. In the January issue he is listed as 'Datary' instead of editor. Taber had sold his share in the Roycroft Shop and the Philistine to Hubbard in November 1895….After his association with Hubbard ended, Taber repeatedly claimed that he was the exclusive founder of both the Roycroft Shop and the Philistine and that Hubbard was a mere interloper… (Wertheim, pp.331).*

After the dissolution of his business relationship with Hubbard, Taber served as editor of the Buffalo Times, and later, the Springfield Union in Massachusetts. By the World War I era, Taber had moved to Wilmington, Delaware and started Taber Laboratories, a chemical company. Clients included the federal Department of Commerce Bureau of Standards, and focused on cellulose products, synthetic gums, lacquers, and plastics.

Although Taber had turned his pursuits to science, he did not completely abandon writing, and continued to write articles for journals and newspapers. Additionally, he authored and co-authored 5 works of fiction and poetry from 1904 to 1943: The Gordon Elopement, The Matrimonial Bureau, Songs of Good Fighting, The Rubaiyat of the Commuter, and the fictionalized-autobiography Ezra and Me. He died in Wilmington, Delaware on November 14, 1951.

_{* Wertheim, Stanley. "Taber, Harry Persons (1865-?)." Stephen Crane Encyclopedia. 1997.}

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Scope and Contents

Although not comprehensive, this collection offers important documentation of the personal life and professional career of Harry Persons Taber, and is comprised of three series: Biographical, Roycroft, and Writings. Notable biographical records include the 1881 diary Taber kept at age 16, recording some of his early printing efforts, and a scrapbook of correspondence and clippings with broad coverage from 1898-1937.

Roycroft records are notable for the aggregation of publications written or contributed to by Taber, including the journal The Philistine, broadsides, and a collection of printed and hand-drawn motifs. (Note: many of the Roycroft publications are fragile; see librarian for handling). A reproduction of the original Taber-Elbert Hubbard agreement, as well as correspondence and articles regarding Hubbard and Stephen Crane are included.

Series III contains typescripts and copies of Taber's numerous articles for newspapers and journals, proofsheets for Ezra and Me, and an unknown typewritten manuscript, possibly written by Roycroft contributor Paul Allan.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

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Related Material

Related Material

Ernest E. Simmons Papers, circa 1894-1966, undated. Call number: RBR Roycroft 1894 .S56

History and Bibliography of the Roycroft Printing Shop: Papers of Paul McKenna, circa 1899, 1927-1983, undated. Call number: RBR Roycroft 1899 .M3 H5

In Memorium, Elbert and Alice Hubbard [scrapbook] Call number: RBR Roycroft 1915 .S515

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Inventory

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