book I

can only give on the authority of the catalogue of Edwards the bookseller, in 1794, for I do not know where any perfect copy is preserved. A slightly imperfect copy however presumably of this edition was sent to me to examine a few years ago. In 1504 the only dated book is a very fine Sarum _Missal_, of which there is a copy in Emmanuel College and a copy on vellum, slightly imperfect, in Manchester. A curious work on natural philosophy by Hieronymus de Sancto Marcho issued in 1505 has Pynson’s device on the title, though it seems probable that he was not the printer. The printer, whoever he was, had not a full supply of numerals, and in place of the two 5’s in the date he has printed two small black-letter h’s as the nearest approach in type to the numeral. The remaining books of this year are of small interest.

In 1506 Pynson issued an edition of the _Principia_ of Peregrinus de Lugo for the Oxford bookseller George Castellain. The imprint runs “per Ricardum Pinson cum Solerti cura ac diligentia honestissimi juvenis ac prudentissimi Hugonis Meslier.” Nothing whatever is known of this assistant of Pynson’s, whose name occurs only in this book. In this same year was issued an edition of the _Kalendar of Shephardes_, which has a curious preface referring to the earlier edition of 1503, which was translated from the French into the Scottish language and printed at Paris by Antoine Verard; and also a Sarum _Manual_ of which there are two copies on vellum, one in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the other at Stonyhurst. In 1507 two noteworthy books were issued, an edition of the _Golden Legend_, of which the unique (and happily quite perfect) copy is at Lambeth, and a Sarum _Breviary_, of which two copies are known, both printed on vellum and not quite perfect. The copy in the Rylands Library, the one described by successive bibliographers, was in the collections of Ratcliffe and Count MacCarthy but the date had been cut out of the colophon and the book was usually ascribed to 1508. However, four years ago another copy appeared for sale in an auction and was bought by a private collector. In it the colophon was quite perfect and gave the exact date, August 25, 1507.

Some time after May, 1508, on the death of William Faques, Pynson succeeded to the office of Printer to the King; so that he was not as usually stated appointed by Henry VIII. At first an annuity of two pounds was paid him and in 1515 the sum was raised to four pounds. The office of King’s Printer though in many ways lucrative was not without its drawbacks. Though he obtained all Government work he was compelled to lay aside his other work until it was finished, which must sometimes have been inconvenient.

The stirring events of 1509 seem to have had no effect on Pynson’s work, and while W. de Worde issued some thirty dated books he contented himself with five, and only one was of any importance from a literary point of view. This was Alexander Barclay’s translation of Brant’s _Ship of Fools_. This fine folio is printed in black-letter and roman type and contains a number of excellent woodcuts. It also contains the full-page cut of Pynson’s arms here used for the first time, and probably only lately granted to him on his appointment as King’s Printer, which carried with it the title of Esquire. A small work of Savonarola issued on the eighth of September this year is interesting as being the first dated work issued in England printed entirely in Roman letter, though it is not improbable that the undated oration of Peter Gryphus also issued this year may be a month or two earlier.

It is quite evident on examining the various accounts paid to Pynson by the King that a great deal of his official work has absolutely disappeared. In the many cases where definite proclamations, statutes, or similar productions are quoted, hardly any evidence of their existence is now to be found. Of course having once served their purpose they would become obsolete and mere waste, but as many were printed on vellum--in one case we find 400 skins printed, in another 450--it seems impossible that all could have been entirely destroyed. Numbers no doubt found their way into the hands of the bookbinders and were used to line bindings, for which purpose, having one side blank, they were very suitable; and it is from old bindings that the greater number of those extant have been recovered.

In 1511 he issued the _Pylgrymage of Sir Richard Guylforde_, a most interesting book to read, as it gives a vivid description of a journey to the Holy Land and of the death and burial of Sir Richard while there.

Among the books of 1513 was an edition of Lidgate’s _Sege and Destruccyon of Troye_, of which he printed several copies on vellum, one of which is in Pepys’s collection, as he did also of the _Statutes of War_, which appeared in the same year, though no copies are now known. Another lost book of this year would have had peculiar interest. Ammonius wrote to Erasmus, shortly after Flodden, “Petrus Carmelianus has just published an epitaph on the King of Scots, stuffed full of womanly abuse, which you may soon read printed in Pynson’s type.” For the next few years there is little of interest to chronicle in his work.

In 1521 was issued Henry VIII’s book the _Assertio septem sacramentorum_. As might be expected many copies were printed on vellum and sent round as presents to the princes of Europe, generally containing an inscription in the King’s hand. Four copies at least are now in existence, two being in the Vatican. About this book there is a curious story. Montaigne in the journal of his voyage to Italy in 1581 said, “I saw the original of the book that the King of England composed against Luther which he sent about fifty years since to Pope Leo X subscribed of his proper hand with this beautiful Latin distich, also of his hand,

Anglorum rex Henricus, Leo decime, mittit Hoc opus, et fidei testem et amicitiae.

Unfortunately there is still extant among the State papers a letter from Cardinal Wolsey to Henry in which the Cardinal writes, “I do send also unto your highnes the choyse of certyne versis to be written in the booke to be sent to the pope of your owne hande.” So much for the royal author.

Between 1522 and 1525 the first edition of Froissart was issued in two folio volumes, and it is one of those books that puzzle the bibliographer as there are many variations and cancels in the different copies. In 1522 appeared Tunstall’s _De arte supputandi_, generally described as the first English printed book on arithmetic. A presentation copy on vellum is in the University Library and another imperfect vellum copy in Christ’s College. In 1526 appeared an edition of Chaucer to which I think proper attention has not been paid. It is generally described as consisting only of the _Canterbury Tales_, but this is not the case. The book was issued in various parts of which the _Canterbury Tales_ is one, and other works were issued in other parts though no library contains a complete set. How many parts really existed I do not know, but it looks as if the intention had been to issue the complete works. In 1526 and 1527 editions of Henry’s VIII letters against Martin Luther were issued, but unlike the _Assertio_ no copies seem to have been printed on vellum.

Beyond the issue of three small law-books in 1528 Pynson seems to have issued nothing up to his death in 1530, and there is no obvious reason to account for this. There is something rather mysterious about the relations between Pynson and Robert Redman, who will be noticed later, for all the books printed by the latter between 1528 and the death of Pynson, when he succeeded to his shop, bear no address, and it is just possible that some arrangement had been made between them. The bindings produced by Pynson are of very rare occurrence. He used two panels of a small size. One contains his mark within a broad border and is very similar in design to his device. The other contains the Tudor rose in the centre with a border of foliage and flowers and vine-leaves in the corners. There is an example in the British Museum.

Pynson died at the beginning of the year 1530 and his will dated November 1529 was proved on the 18th of February following. He left property in Chancery Lane and Tottenham but there is little of interest in the will itself. He left bequests to his two apprentices John Snowe and Richard Withers on condition of their faithfully serving out their apprenticeships. At the time of his death he had only one child alive, his daughter Margaret, who had married first a certain William Campion, probably a stationer, by whom she had two daughters, Amye and Joane, and secondly a man named Warde. Pynson’s son Richard is described as lately deceased, but he had left a daughter Joan who was old enough to be married in 1537. It is almost certainly this son Richard, and not as usually asserted his father, who took out letters of denization in 1513, for Richard Pynson the elder could never have risen to be King’s Printer and to have the right to bear arms without having been made a denizen. Everything points to the fact that he was not only denizened but naturalised, but the son who from his age must have been born abroad would require letters of denization also.

After Pynson’s death at the beginning of 1530 a certain John Haukins completed and issued the curious book on which Pynson had been at work for some time, _L’Eclarcissement de la langue Française_ by John Palsgrave. The history of this book is somewhat mysterious. At the end of 1523 an indenture was made out between John Palsgrave and Pynson for the printing of 60 reams of paper at six and eightpence a ream. Another indenture of the same year was for printing 750 copies of _Lesclarcissement de la lange Francoys_, containing three sundry books. Pynson engaged to print daily a sheet on both sides [that is four pages] and Palsgrave agreed not to keep him waiting for copy.

The final indenture dated January 18, 15 Hen. VIII [1524], between John Palsgrave, prebendary of St Paul’s, and Richard Pynson citizen and stationer of London, arranges for the printing of a book named _Lez le Clarissimaunt de la lange Francois_, containing three books, with certain tables and a French vocabulist. Palsgrave will pay six and eightpence for each ream of paper 20 quires; 750 copies are to be printed, of which Pynson shall have as many as, at a price agreed between them, will pay him at the above rate. Clauses to be inserted that Pynson shall not print more than 750 till that number is sold, and that Palsgrave shall deliver the copy from time to time truly corrected. The book as we now have it consists of three parts. The first has the title, introduction, and index, and a privilege from the King dated September 2, 1530, so that the printing must be after that date. The second contains two books, one on pronunciation, the other on the nine parts of speech and ends with Pynson’s device. The third part contains the third book with tables of words and ending with this colophon, “Thus endeth this booke called _Lesclarissement de la langue Francoyse_, whiche is very necessarye for all suche as intende to lerne to speke trewe frenche; the imprintyng fynyssed by Johan Haukyns the XVIII daye of July. The yere of our lorde god, M.CCCCC. and XXX.” In the preface of the author to the King he speaks of his having formerly written two “sundrie” books on the subject which he had “offred” to the Princess Mary, the King’s sister, and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, her husband. These two books I take to be the two contained in the second part of _Lesclarcissement_ which were certainly printed by Pynson. A curious piece of information about the book occurs in a letter dated April 13, 1529, written by Stephen Vaughan to Cromwell. In it he says that “he wishes to learn French and when in London asked Mr Palsgrave for one of his books, which he refused. Requests Cromwell to get one for him, as Palsgrave will not refuse him. Hears he has told Pynson to sell them only to those he names lest his profit as a teacher should be diminished. Would esteem one no less than a jewel and will send Cromwell something of greater value in return.”

Now in Pynson’s first agreement he was to print 60 reams of paper, that is 1200 quires and 750 copies of the book. This gives to each copy of the