Early Oxford Press by Falconer Madan

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Title: The Early Oxford Press
A Bibliography of Printing and Publishing at Oxford
'1468'-1640 With Notes, Appendixes and Illustrations

Author: Falconer Madan

Release Date: October 10, 2017 [EBook #55727]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

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EARLY OXFORD PRESS

MADAN

London

HENRY FROWDE

Oxford University Press Warehouse

Amen Corner, E.C.

New York

MACMILLAN & CO., 66 FIFTH AVENUE

AN OXFORD TITLE-PAGE, 1640

The

Early Oxford Press

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRINTING AND PUBLISHING AT OXFORD

‘1468’–1640

WITH NOTES, APPENDIXES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

BY

FALCONER MADAN, M. A.

FELLOW OF BRASENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD

Oxford

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1895

Oxford

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

PREFACE

The present work was undertaken early in 1889, and is an attempt to describe in detail the products and working of the Oxford Press in its early days. Though eclipsed by the glories of the later
University Press, the first period, included in this book, has a natural importance of its own. The Fifteenth and early Sixteenth Century presses[1] are necessarily of interest, and when printing
became firmly established in 1585 it began to reflect faithfully the current tendencies of thought and study in the University. Theology is predominant, animated on its controversial side with fierce
opposition to the Church of Rome, but the quieter fields of classical work are well represented, and side by side is seen an increasing study of English literature. Of lighter books there are few, and
of chapbooks perhaps only one (1603, no. 5).
The most important works produced at Oxford between 1585 and 1640 were Richard de Bury’s Philobiblon (1599), Wycliff’s treatises (1608), capt. John Smith’s Map of Virginia (1612),
Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (1621, &c.), Field on the Church (1628, &c.), Sandys’ translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (1633), the University Statutes (1634), Chaucer’s Troilus and
Cressida in English and Latin (1635), Chillingworth’s Religion of Protestants (1638), and Bacon’s Advancement and Proficience of Learning, in English (1640: see frontispiece). There are of
course many books on logic, philosophy and the like, intended for the University curriculum, and many collections of the rhetorical poems by which the University was expected to condole or
rejoice with every change in the royal estate. 180 pages of mechanical grief at Elizabeth’s death in 1603 are at once followed by 200 pages of equally mechanical congratulations to James I: and the
metrical tears dropped in turn on the grave of the latter monarch in March 1625, are in May succeeded with indecorous haste by songs of joy on the marriage of his successor. Some volumes of
English poems and plays occur, by Skelton, Nicholas Breton, Churchyard, Fitz-Geffrey, Randolph, Cartwright, Fletcher, and others, and a few still lighter pieces, such as a Masque at Richmond,
partly in Wiltshire dialect, and “Bushell’s Rock,” both in 1636. There are traces of the study of Spanish, French and Welsh, as well as of Latin and Greek; and an attempt to introduce phonetic
writing and spelling was made by Charles Butler in 1633 and 1634. Even theological disputes are lightened by the solemn account of certain Jesuits in the East, who dressed up a carcase as that of
a queen recently deceased, obtained much glory from the miracles it wrought, until the real corpse arrived and the priests vacated the vicinity (1633, Gregorius). There is something surprising in
Oxford being chosen as the printing-place of a book to persuade mothers to nurse their own children (1622, Clinton); and an episcopal alchemist is not often to be met with in real life (1621,
Thornborough). It is less to be wondered at that a college which had leased land to Queen Elizabeth for a quiet five thousand years, should try to be relieved of its agreement within fifty (1623,
Oxford).
There is no need of a general history of the University Press at this time, as distinguished from the annals which the Appendixes of this work present. The printers were privileged members of the
University, and occasionally printed “cum privilegio,” but there is little to invest their personal proceedings with importance. Though it is true that money was advanced in 1585 by the Earl of
Leicester, Chancellor of the University, to set up Joseph Barnes with a new press, and that the charter of privileges in 1632 gave the University direct control of the printing, there are as yet few
signs of actual academical patronage or interference, and the failures and successes of the printers and publishers, which can be traced in detail in Appendixes C and F, are the ordinary fluctuations
of trade. Nor can the Oxford press at this time claim much connexion with the greater world of the English Court or Church. After it was placed on a permanent footing by the Earl of Leicester, its
one great patron and protector within our period was Archbishop Laud, who occupied a similar position to that of Bishop Fell at a later period in the same century.
The year 1640 has been chosen as the inferior limit of this bibliography, partly because both the British Museum Catalogue of early English books and Arber’s Transcript of the Registers of the
Stationers’ Company stop at that point, partly because the interest in the products of the press as such was found to be rapidly diminishing, and partly in consequence of the break-up of all quiet
progress during the convulsions of the Rebellion, combined with the dismal prospect of that trackless wilderness—the literature of the Civil War.
The present bibliography presents, it is believed, four features of novelty:—the better representation of the titlepage by the use of Roman and Italic capitals as well as ordinary type; the mention of
the chief type used in each book; the furnishing of the first words of certain pages, to facilitate the identification of imperfect copies; and the insertion of actual pages[2] of books printed at Oxford,
selected from works which are cheap and common. These points are explained and discussed in a paper on Method in Bibliography, printed at pp. 91–106 of vol. 1 of the Transactions of the
Bibliographical Society (1893), to which the reader is referred, if he wishes to see a fuller account of the whole aim and method of the present book.
The best thanks of the writer are due for general help to Mr. E. Gordon Duff, Librarian of the John Rylands (late Spencer) Library at Manchester, to Mr. F. J. H. Jenkinson, Librarian of the
Cambridge University Library, and to Mr. W. H. Allnutt of the Bodleian: but especially to the Delegates of the Clarendon Press both for undertaking on liberal terms a work which can scarcely
prove remunerative, and for enabling the Oxford Historical Society to supply copies to its members, as vol. xxix, at a price far below its actual cost[3]. Mr. Horace Hart, the Controller of the Press,
has taken a warm personal interest in the printing, and any merits of form which may be found are due to his experience and to the co-operation of his compositors. Nothing, however, can relieve
the writer of responsibility for the errors and shortcomings which will be detected; and he can only plead that it is better to bring out an imperfect book, if it is a useful one and the result of hard
work, than, by straining after an unattainable completeness, to delay indefinitely its publication.

F. MADAN.

Oxford, Dec., 1894.

v

vi

vii

viii

Minor Points.

Dates. The books classed under a given year, such as 1615, are necessarily such as were issued between 25 March 1615 and 24 March 1616, since no means exist for dividing them according to the
historical year. In recording a date between Jan. 1 and March 24, the form used is invariably the double one, such as 23 Feb. 1615

6, by which is implied what we understand by 23 Feb. 1616.

Numbers of books. Some notes on the number of books printed at Oxford will be found on p. 291, and of books printed or published at Oxford on p. 292, among the Notanda.
References. The usual style of reference throughout the book (including index) is to the year followed by the initial letter of the particular heading; as 1634 C, when the reference is to no. 9 on p. 177 (Cosin).
A few references will be found in the earlier pages to years beyond 1640, made before it was decided to close the work at that year.
Titles. The heading usually presents the author’s name in the form by which he is generally known to posterity, as “James ii, king,” although at the time of the book referred to he was prince James.

LIST OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface
v

List of Illustrations and Tables
x

Plan of the Bibliography
xi

The Oxford Press:—

Fifteenth Century
1

Early Sixteenth Century
5

Fictitious or Lost Oxford books, &c., 1459–1584
8

The Oxford University Press, 1585–1640
14

Periodical
225

Supplement of Additions and Corrections
227

List of Undated books
236

Appendix A—The Fifteenth Century Press (a detailed account of books, type, copies known, &c.)
237

Appendix B—The Early Sixteenth Century Press
263

Appendix C—A chronological list of persons and proceedings connected with book-production at Oxford, A.D. 1180–1640
266

— Discussion of the authorship of the Praise of Music, 1586
279

Appendix D—Documents (Statute, 1373—Charters, 1632, 1632

3, 1636

7—Statute, 1636)
281

Appendix E—Woodcut and metal ornaments, tables of use of type, notanda
289

Appendix F—Lists of Imprints and tables of Oxford printers and publishers, 1585–1640
293

Index
315

ix

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES

Plate

I.
A collotype (as are also plates II-VII) of the titlepage of Wats’s translation of Bacon’s Advancement of Learning (Oxford, 1640), see

p. 217: here reduced one-third in length and breadth
Frontispiece

Oxford type, “1468”-86.

II.
Type 1 (see p. 241). The last page of the first Oxford book, bearing the famous colophon with date MCCCCLXVIII, discussed on pp.

245–52
At end.

III.
Types 2 and 3 (see pp. 242–3). The upper part of the first page of the Latteburius, printed in 1482. Parts of the curious woodcut border

are also shown, which is the first used in English printing
At end.

IV.
Types 3, 4, 5, 6 (see pp. 243–4). The upper part of K7v of the Lyndewoode, printed in 1483 (?). The coloured initials are of course

inserted by hand in the original
At end.

V.
Types 5, 7 (see pp. 243–4). The text of f2v of the Festial, printed in 1486

7 (?), showing one of the smaller woodcuts and the woodcut

capital G
At end.

Oxford type, 1517–19.

VI.
(a) The titlepage of Burley on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle, printed in 1517 (see pp. 5, 263), showing the large wood-engraving of

the University Arms and the ordinary large type.

(b) The four last lines of the back of the titlepage reproduced above, showing the ordinary large and small type
At end.

VII.
The titlepage of Burley de Materia et Forma, printed in 1518 by John Scolar. The woodcut represents a master and scholar. The type is

the largest, used in titles only
At end.

Oxford printing, 1585–1640.

Each of the first seven hundred copies of this work contains three specimens of actual pages from old Oxford books, copies of which are both common and cheap. Thus nos. 1–200 contain pages
from (1) Ursinus’s Summe of Christian Religion, 1587, (2), N. Fuller’s Miscellanea Sacra, 1616, (3) Carpenter’s Philosophia Libera, 1636: nos. 201–322 (1) Ursinus, (2) Fuller, (3) Reusner’s
Symbola, 1638: nos. 323–500 (1) Ursinus, (2) Sanderson’s Logica, 1618, (3) Reusner: nos. 501–700 (1) Ursinus’s Summe of Christian Religion, 1589, (2) Du Moulin’s Accomplishment of the
prophecies, 1613, (3) Grotius’s Defensio fidei catholicæ, 1636.

After no. 700, at least one actual page will be given, and its provenance will be indicated by a note of the form “38.20,” implying a page from the 20th book of 1638 (Reusner).

List of Tables.

PAGE

Details of the 15th century books
238–9

Owners of copies of ditto
240

Details of the early 16th century books
265

Type used in Oxford books, 1585–1640
291

The relations of Oxford printers and publishers, 1585–1640
311–3

x

PLAN OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
xi

15th and early 16th century.

The books of these periods are in some respects exceptionally treated, but the general plan is similar to that of the later press. Pages 1–7 (printed off in 1889) must be taken in close connexion with
Appendixes A and B, which correct and supplement those pages in important points.

1585–1640.

1. After the heading (which in all cases is the author or a body representing the author, if known; otherwise the catch-title) comes the title, reproduced faithfully so far as was possible with the
employment of four types. A fifth minute type indicates letters represented by contractions in the original. The occurrence of a “motto” (whether a text or quotation), a device (see p. 289) or
woodcuts (see p. 290) is noted in square brackets. A * before the heading implies “undated”: a † “no place of printing mentioned.”
2. Next follows the technical description, comprising:—

a. The number of the imprint (see pp. 292–310: it would have been better to add the names of the printer and publisher to the bare reference).
b. The date.
c. The apparent size of a page of an ordinary uncut copy, according to the scale,

for narrow sizes
for broad sizes

in.

in.

12–18
folio
12–18
large 4o

9–12
large 8o
9–12
4o

7–9
8o
7–9
small 4o

6–7
12o
6–7
square 12o

5–6
16o

&c.

4–5
24o

The number of leaves in a section (quire or gathering) precedes, within round brackets, when different from what is suggested by the apparent size: as “(eights) small 4o.” When it has been desirable to
indicate further the way in which the original sheets of paper have been folded, the words single, double, or treble (for once, twice, or thrice folded) are used on p. 238.
d. The number of pages of a perfect copy, in square brackets when there is no printed pagination, as “pp. [16] + 121 + [9].” When printed pagination does not occur in the book at all, the signatures are also
given.
e. The first words of the 11th page, and of later ones in the case of a large work, always in italics.
f. The common type of the body of the work, followed by the terms Roman, Italic, or English (i. e. Black-letter): see pp. 291–2.
g. The contents. Every page not mentioned is blank, without exception.
3. Notes on the book. A reference to Wood’s Athenæ and Fasti Oxonienses, as edited by Bliss (1813–20), has been considered as superseding in most instances any biographical account of the
author. And the limitation of the present work to a bibliography of a press, not of books connected with the University, has been borne in mind.

THE OXFORD PRESS.

The Fifteenth Century Press[4].
1

“1468.”

[Rufinus, of Aquileia]. [Sign. a 1r:—] Incipit exposicio sancti Ieronimi in | simbolum apostolorum ad papam laurentium. [Sign. e 9v:—] Explicit exposicio sancti Ieronimi in | simbolo apostolorum ad
papam lauren|cium Impressa Oxonie Et finita An|no domini . M . cccc . lxviij . xvij . die | decembris.

Impr. as above, Oxford, “1468”: 8o: pp. [84], signn. a-d8 e10: sign. b 1r beg. tali generacione. Contents:—pp. (1–82) the treatise.
The work here ascribed to St. Jerome is in reality by Tyrannius Rufinus of Aquileia, d. 610.