CHAPTER III

JOHN DAY AND THE DARK AGES OF ENGLISH PRINTING

One name stands out among English printers of this period, that of John Day, who has been described as “one of the best and most enterprising of printers.” Day was born in 1522 and began to print in 1546. His business career lasted for thirty-eight years. He died in 1584, at the age of 62. Day began his business life at a period when English printing was very poor. His first books were as bad as those of his contemporaries. They were printed from worn type, the presswork was bad, they were without pagination, and he did not even use a device such as was customary among printers at that time. His first important work was a Bible, printed in 1549. This Bible was illustrated by wood-cuts which were very evidently second-hand, as they extended beyond the letter-press on the page. On the accession of Queen Mary I, in 1553, he went abroad, possibly for religious reasons, but probably not, as Day, like most printers of this particular time, found no difficulty in conforming himself to the religious views of the government. As a rule they accepted the peculiar position of Henry VIII which has already been described, printed Protestant books under Edward VI, Catholic books under Mary, and Protestant books under Elizabeth. They seem to have been quite content, in other words, to take what was brought them and to accept whatever government regulations might be in existence.

This attitude on the part of the printers reflects the general attitude of the English people at this time. There is very little doubt that the mass of the people were neither staunchly Catholic nor aggressively Protestant. While there were earnest and aggressive spirits in both parties, it seems quite clear that the vast majority of the people were ready to accept either Catholicism or Protestantism as a state church. England did not become aggressively Protestant until well into the reign of Elizabeth. Unfortunately for the interests of religion and of religious toleration, the church question became a political question, and when Spain and the other Catholic powers attempted to overthrow the government of England and make England dependent upon Spain, patriotism and Protestantism came to be regarded by the English as synonymous terms. Here, as elsewhere, the Reformation was a political more than a religious question.

Just when Day returned to England is not clear, but it was before the death of Queen Mary, as he was a charter member of the Stationers’ Company, which was chartered in the last year of her reign, and published a book dated the same year. Evidently Day studied abroad. Very probably that was his purpose in travel, for we find that in 1559 his books began to show excellence and they improved in quality until we find him soon producing the best printing which had yet been done in England. From this time on his work was marked by accuracy, taste, and a high grade of excellence in both typography and presswork.

He was greatly encouraged and at times assisted by Matthew Parker, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 to 1575. Parker was by no means a great man, but he was just the sort of man whom the autocratic Elizabeth wished to have for Archbishop of Canterbury. He was moderate in his views and easygoing in temperament, a scholar and collector of beautiful things and a patron of the arts and sciences. Parker not only encouraged and patronized Day but employed him to print on the private press which the Archbishop had set up at Lambeth. Day’s best piece of work was an edition of Asser’s “Life of Alfred the Great” which he printed for Parker in 1574.

Day published and printed the first edition of Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs,” a huge folio volume of 2008 pages. In 1578 Day published a book in Latin and Greek. The Greek was the best face yet seen in England and was equal to the work of Estienne. Other notable achievements of Day were the printing of the Psalter with musical notes, the cutting of Hebrew words in wood to be used in printing the life of Bishop Jewel, published in 1573, and the cutting of a font of Saxon type which appears to have been the first used in England. This font contained twenty-six capitals and twenty-seven lowercase letters. The capitals consisted of eighteen old roman letters and eight Saxon characters, two of which were diphthongs. The lowercase contained fifteen roman and twelve Saxon characters. Day also cut italic types to match roman, the first time this had been done. Day’s work was mainly religious, although he published some of the first English plays and some other works of general literature.

As usual with men of great excellence, Day suffered much from the antagonism of jealous rivals, but this antagonism was not sufficient to deprive him of success. The excellence of his work was rewarded not only by success in business but by the award of a large number of privileges which were sources of great profit. We have seen, however, that he relinquished a large number of these at the time of Wolfe’s revolt. Those that he saved seem to have been by far the most profitable.

A few other printers of this period need mention for various reasons. The best work after that of Day was done by Vautrollier. Tottell, whose name is variously spelled in the records of the time, printed many things of great value to English literature. He was an enterprising printer of contemporary publications. Robert Darker, king’s printer to James I, printed the statutes, proclamations, and editions of the Book of Common Prayer of that period and deserves to be remembered as the original printer of the so-called Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611. This English text, sometimes called the Authorized and sometimes called the King James Version, was the only text of the English Bible received among English-speaking people until the revision made in the latter part of the eighteenth century. It may be worth while to note that this version is not uncommonly erroneously referred to as the St. James Version. There is absolutely no justification for this common error. The book was authorized by King James and for that reason is known as the Authorized or King James Version. King James, however, was no saint. The authorization was simply a license or permission. Darker published the book as a commercial venture at his own expense. He used the same type and the same ornaments as those used in the Bishop’s Bible, an English translation published in 1568.

John Norton, another one of the group of printers favored by James I, cut some of the best Greek types which have ever appeared in England. He was a worthy successor in this field of John Day. William and Isaac Jaggard printed the famous folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays in 1623. Typographically it was a poor piece of work, but as a literary landmark it is of the utmost importance.

The standards of Day were not long maintained. There were a few good printers in the seventeenth century, but for the most part they were poor and the tendency was decidedly toward deterioration. Political and religious controversies broke out afresh in the reign of James I (1613–1625) and were continued with increasing bitterness until they finally broke into the storm of civil war which swept over England in the reign of Charles I. A natural result of these conditions was a tightening of the restrictions upon the press, which became more and more burdensome. The controversies called forth floods of literature, much of which had to be clandestinely printed. The restrictions, as we shall presently see, were almost unbearable and the market was greatly disturbed. The consequence was that English printing reached its low-water mark in the last half of the seventeenth century. The period which we are considering, however, shows one important invention which in its field was a distinct improvement. Copperplate engraving was introduced into England in 1540, but it was a long time before it came into general use. Later we find it used first for portraits, then for engraved title pages, some of which were of great beauty, and then for general purposes of illustration.

James I strengthened the Company of Stationers by withdrawing several valuable privileges from private persons and giving them to the Company. This action was probably taken with a view to making the Company more reliable as the agent for the enforcement of the press laws, which were not materially changed during James’s reign. With the political and religious dissensions which followed the accession of Charles I in 1525 came renewed efforts to meet the rising tides of discussion and to dam up the flood of pamphlets, mostly badly printed, first by the more stringent enforcement of the old laws and then by the enactment of new ones. The Company’s registers at this time show a long list of penalties, including fines, cropping of ears, imprisonment, and expulsion from the Company. It is only just to King Charles, however, to say that he did attempt to foster learning and encourage good printing, provided the learning were politically and religiously orthodox according to King Charles’s standards and the printers were amenable to authority.

In this connection there is a rather interesting incident of an attempt by King Charles to set up a Greek press. In 1631 Barker and Lucas printed the so-called “Wicked Bible,” which derived its name from an unfortunate typographical error, the omission of the word “not” in the seventh commandment. Barker and Lucas were fined for their carelessness £300, a very heavy fine, equal, if we make allowance for the difference in the purchasing power of money, to about $12,000 to-day. In settlement of this fine they were commanded instead of paying the money into the treasury to purchase £300 worth of Greek type and to print one Greek book a year at their own cost and risk, the Archbishop of Canterbury to fix the size of the edition. They gladly agreed to this, but owing to the political conditions which immediately followed very little came of it.

In 1637 a Star Chamber decree was issued which marks the high-water mark of governmental regulations in England. By this decree all books of every sort were to be licensed. Law books were to be licensed by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chief Baron; books dealing with history by the Secretaries of State; books on heraldry by the Earl Marshal; books on any other subjects by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, or the Chancellors or Vice-Chancellors of the two universities. Two copies of every book submitted for publication were to be handed to the licenser, one of which he was to keep for future reference. Catalogues of books imported into the country were to be sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury or to the Bishop of London, and no consignments of foreign books were to be opened until the representatives of one of these dignitaries and of the Stationers’ Company were present.

It was further decreed that no merchant or bookseller should import from abroad any book printed in the English language. The main purpose of this enactment was probably to prevent evasion of the English press laws by the importation from abroad of books objectionable to the government. It was also, although this purpose was probably secondary, intended to protect England from foreign competition. The name of the printer, the author, and the publisher, and the place of publication and sale were to be placed in every book. No person was permitted to erect a printing press or to let any premises for the purpose of carrying on printing without first giving notice to the Company, and no carpenter was permitted to make a press without similar notice.

The number of master printers was limited to twenty. Every master printer had to give a bond of £300 for good behavior. The Master and the Wardens of the Stationers’ Company might have three presses each and three apprentices. No other printer could have more than two presses. A master printer on the livery (a member of the Company) might have two apprentices, others only one. The master printers were to give work to journeymen when requested to do so. This enactment was not made out of any tenderness for unemployed journeymen but for the reason that the unemployed journeyman was always tempted to pick up an occasional shilling by printing unlicensed or objectionable books. It was considered desirable to keep him employed where his work could be supervised. All reprints had to be licensed exactly the same as new publications. The Company was confirmed in its right of search. This meant not simply a right of supervision of printing offices, but the right to search any place where it might be suspected that printing was being carried on. One copy of every book had to be filed in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Only four type-founders were permitted to carry on business. Books could be sold only by booksellers. The punishments imposed for infractions of these laws included destruction of stock, fines, imprisonment, and whipping at the cart’s tail. The allowance of type-founders, small as it was, seemed to be ample, in spite of the fact that English type-founders had now ceased to cut type. English type-founding had generally been poor up to this time and was to continue so for some time to come. What new type came into use in the English printing offices was mainly bought on the continent.

Up to this time a great deal of printing had been done on the continent for the English market. The works of the Fathers, the classics, and the greater part of the serious publications of the time, being printed mostly in Latin, were in the hands of the continental printers. With their facilities for the production and distribution of books they held the market so securely that English printers did not even attempt competition. In addition to that a great deal of printing in the English language for the English market continued to be done on the continent. As has already been indicated, a good deal of this was political and religious and could not safely be published in England. A considerable quantity of it, however, was work in general literature, which was done better than most English work and cheaper than English work of a corresponding quality. The act of 1637 shut off a great deal of this foreign printing, especially so much of it as was controversial.

Further legislation was enacted in order to develop English printing. For a long time printing was not an English industry. It will be remembered that although Caxton was English born most of the early printing was done by foreigners who came to England for that purpose, and for a long time there was a very large foreign element in the industry. In 1523 a law was passed that no alien engaged in the printing business in England could take any but English-born apprentices. In 1529 an act was passed that no alien not already naturalized could set up any house or shop for the exercise of any handicraft in England. In 1534 it was further enacted that no books should be imported bound and ready for sale and that no unnaturalized alien could sell foreign printed books except at wholesale.

The decree of 1637 was fortunately not long-lived. The political ascendency of Parliament soon began to be felt and in 1641 the Star Chamber was abolished. While the abolition of this court did not directly affect the decree of 1637, indirectly it made it practically void. For a short while Parliament permitted the decree to lapse and left the printers very much to themselves. This was not because Parliament was any more liberal than King Charles in its views on the subject of printing. It was only that while Parliament was strong enough to suffer the law to be evaded and so to give free rein to the scribbling propensities of its supporters, it was not yet strong enough to muzzle the writers on the other side. Parliament was also very busy with other concerns and for the time being was content to let the printers alone.

The result was an enormous flood of printing, most of it worse than ever. An examination of the publications of the time shows that everything that would go on a press was dug up and utilized. We find in use old type and blocks which had formed part of the stock of Wynkyn de Worde and Pynson. As soon, however, as Parliament got well seated in power it proceeded to deal with printers along the old lines. In 1643 it reënacted the decree of 1637 with the important modification that the number of printers was not limited. In 1649 sixty printers in London and the two university towns gave the bonds for good conduct required by law as a requisite to carrying on the business. It will be remembered that the decree of 1637 limited the number in London to twenty, with one in each of the universities. This act called forth one of the noblest pieces of literature in the English language, Milton’s “Areopagitica,” or plea for unlicensed printing, in which Milton brings all the resources of his great learning and matchless literary skill to the defence of the freedom of the press. The plea, of course, fell on deaf ears for the time, but it remains one of the jewels of English literature. The Parliamentary government held the act as a weapon which could be used in case of need. It was strictly enforced with regard to political and religious books and newspapers. It seems to have been very little enforced outside these limits.

When Cromwell took the reins of power as Lord Protector of England he enforced the press laws very strictly. Cromwell was a masterful man and was not disposed to permit criticism of his person and government or discussion of matters of public policy upon which the government had decided. On the death of Cromwell there followed a period of political uncertainty during which the enforcement of the act was relaxed, only to be renewed at the accession of King Charles II in 1660.

Shortly after the accession of King Charles a group of the best printers unsuccessfully petitioned for the incorporation of a Company of Printers as distinguished from the Stationers. They alleged that the Company of Stationers was controlled by the booksellers and that they cheapened printing and impoverished the printers, that the Company of Stationers was so large that only old men could attain to the dignity of masters or wardens, and that only once in ten or twelve years was it possible for a journeyman printer to become a master printer. They claimed that a new Company would free the printing industry from these shackles, that it would improve the quality of printing, and that it would secure for the government better supervision of the output of the press. This last was probably a bait to the hook. The petition was not granted, however, and things went on in the old fashion.

In 1662 a new act similar to the preceding ones was passed, containing only one important variation by which the privilege of having a printing press was extended to the city of York. This act was for a time very strictly enforced. The police power necessary to the enforcement of the act was taken away from the Stationers’ Company and entrusted to Sir Roger Lestrange, who was appointed censor of the press. He was given control of the printing office and power of search. With a few reserved exceptions the entire licensing of books was placed in his hands and he was given a monopoly of the publication of news. Sir Roger seems to have taken himself quite seriously and to have discharged his functions for some years with a considerable degree of efficiency. Many books, however, were published without licenses. Some were published clandestinely, while it is probable that Sir Roger was more concerned to exercise the powers of office for the suppression of political and religious controversy and for the protection of his monopoly than for the control of pure literature. The act was reënacted in 1685 for a period of seven years. It was then reënacted for a period of one year and finally disappeared in 1694.

In spite of the wretched condition of printing at this period a few lights appear in the gloom. Thomas Roycroft did some very excellent printing. He achieved one of the most remarkable tasks which had yet been accomplished by an English printer in the publication of his famous Polyglot Bible. This Bible gave the text in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Chaldean, Syriac, Arabic, Samaritan, Persian, and Ethiopic. Of course, these languages did not all appear in all parts of the Bible. The Greek, Latin, and Arabic texts appear throughout. The Hebrew and Chaldean appear in the Old Testament, the Ethiopic in the Psalms and New Testament only, and the Persian only in the New Testament. The types used came from four foundries, one of them being a face cut by John Day. The work was published in six great volumes, pages 16 x 10 inches. The text was so arranged that when the Bible was opened at any point each double page showed all the languages used for that particular passage. The first volume was published in September of 1654. The second appeared in 1655, the third in 1656, and the other three in 1657. Cromwell encouraged the work by ordering the admission of the paper duty free.

In 1688 the largest office in London was that of James Fletcher, who had five presses and employed thirteen journeymen and two apprentices. One of the printers of this period, John Barber, arrived at the distinction of Lord Mayor of London. He was a very popular Lord Mayor and he must have been very prosperous in business or he would not have acquired the means necessary to holding the position. He was in no way remarkable as a printer, however.

During this period there were four type-founders of importance—Joseph Moxon, the Andrews brothers, the Glover brothers, and Thomas James. The most famous of these was James Moxon. Primarily a man of science, he was distinguished as a mathematician and hydrographer. To these interests he added type-founding. Like Dürer in Germany and Geoffry Tory in France, he worked out a theory of type design in exact mathematical proportions, but like these and other attempts of the same sort it was not successful. While it is true that there must be proportion in type-faces, it is also true that a beautiful and legible type-face must have qualities other than a mere mathematical exactness. Moxon is known chiefly by his important work, “Mechanick Exercises.” Part II of this book is an exhaustive study of printing and type-founding. So thorough was Moxon’s study of these subjects and so accurate his presentation that the work is yet a standard authority on many fundamental points.

Joseph and Robert Andrews, although not very good workmen, made an extensive variety of type and found a good sale for it. They used the Moxon fonts, but added to them new roman and italic fonts, learned fonts, so called, Anglo-Saxon, and Irish. James and Thomas Glover cast two fonts of black letter from the matrices cut by Wynkyn de Worde and some foreign letters. They do not appear to have undertaken competition with Andrews and James in the ordinary forms of letter. Thomas James, who shared with the Andrews brothers a large portion of the business, used two sets of matrices cut in Holland. Of course, these few type-founders hardly made a beginning of supplying the English printers with type. The greater part of the printing of this period was done from type imported from Holland. It was in order to compete with this imported type that James obtained possession of the two fonts of Dutch matrices which were the backbone of his type-foundry.

After the Restoration of 1660, we find the Oxford Press rapidly advancing to the commanding position in English printing which it came to occupy in later years and still holds. Oxford had been a centre of royal influence in the civil wars. King Charles I held court there for some time and the university was always staunchly loyal to the Stuarts. Naturally it enjoyed the sunshine of royal favor when the Stuarts came back in the person of Charles II.

In 1667 Dr. John Fell, Vice-Chancellor of the University and afterward Bishop of Oxford, gave the University a complete type-foundry with matrices of roman, italic, black-letter Saxon, and several Oriental tongues. Ten years later Francis Junius added to the equipment of the foundry a splendid collection of out-of-the-way types, including Runic, Gothic, Saxon, Icelandic, Danish, and Swedish, together with a considerable number of types of the more common sorts. This equipment of type for learned work and foreign language printing enabled the Oxford Press to take a position without a rival as a producer of learned literature. The presswork and composition done at Oxford were well maintained on the level of their type equipment, so that the Oxford University Press soon came to hold a unique position.