Page:A dictionary of printers and printing.djvu/391

 382

HISTORY OF PRINTING.

power. Upon this the archbishop brought his business before the treasurer, and interceded for him, that he would move the queen to set her hand to certain letters, that he had drawn up in the queen's name to the city, in effect that Day might be permitted tu go forward with his build- ing. Whereby, he said, his honour would deserve well of Christ's church, and of the prince and state. "The archbishop also made another thing serve his turn as a seasonable argument, which was, that but lately the queen's privy council had wrote to him, and the other ecclesi- astical commissioners, to help Day; perhaps in vending his books, and encouraging those of the clergy to buy them." In September, 1562, Day obtained a license to print king Edward the Sixth's Catechism in Latin and English ; but as this militated against the privilege granted to Wolfe, vide ante, page 353, he seems to have applied for redress to Cecil, lord Burleigh, in whose papers occurs the following memorandum relative to this affair. " Item, that whereas one Day hath a priviledge for the Catechisme, and one Reyne Wolfe, who hath a former privilege for Latin books, they mar joyne in printing of the sayd Catechisme." The conclusion was, that Wolfe was entitled to print it in Latin, whilst Day was confined to the English translation, for which another confirmatory license was issued, bearing date the 25th of Alarch, 1553, wherein he is allowed to print a brief A, B, C, annexed to the Catechisme. He also enjoyed the printing and reprinting of all the works of John Ponet, bishop of Winchester, and of the famous Thomas Becon, Professor of Theology ; and a patent dated the 2nd of June, 1608, gives him the power of printing the Ptalmet of Dauid in Metre. This was renewal on the 26th of August, 1679, to him and to his son Richard Day, for their joint and separate lives.

An honour of much greater importance in the annals of type-founding, belongs to the memory of John Day. He was the fiist, and in 1674, the only printer who had cut Saxon characters. This is recorded by archbishop Parker himself,* in his preface to ^Ifredi Jtegis Res Gestce, printed in 1574 together with Walsingham's Ypodigma Neustrue: but the types had then been used for three former works, — ^for a Saxon homily edited by the archbishop, under the title of A Testimonie of Antiguitie, &c. in 1567; for Lambarde's Archaionomia, in 1568; and for the Saxon Gospelt edited by Fox, under the patron- age of Parser, in 1671.

The Aelfredi Regis Res Gestae, [ah Asser.] is entitled to particular notice, since it is the earliest collection of our national history, printed in Eng- land ; its contents, moreover are intrinsically

certe quod sclam solus) has formas leri indderit, facUe qnse Saxonlds literia perscrlpta sunt, lisdem typis dirolga- bantur. "
 * Jam vero cum Dayus typograpbns fniiniu (et omnium

t In the library of Trinity Hall. Cambridge, the three treatises of Aelfredi Regit Set Gettm. Hittoria Breuit Thomat Waitingkam, and Ypodigma tfevifritt Per Thomam De WuUingham, are found bound together; and formerly the archbishop Parker's own copy.

valuable and important to the antiquary. For if every other claim were waved, this work must be regarded as an object of peculiar interest,if only on the ground of that precedence to which it is entitled before any other collection of British historians. Tbe following description is taken from the Bibliographical and Retrospective Mis- cellany. In the centre of a rich and elaborate wood-cut title, we read,

AELFREDI RE-Gis Res gestae'.

These words surmounta portrait, intended, we presume, to present king Alfred ; the following fines are in a compartment beneath :

Nobititat innala tibi probUaiit honoremt Armipotent Aetfiredi dedttt probitaq^ taborem, Perpetunmq* labor nomen: cui mijria dolori Onadia temper erant ; tpet temper mLrio timori.

The volume begins with /our leaves ; H " Pra- efatio ad Lectorem," then one blank. The work, which is in the Saxon character,* consisting of forty pages, immediately follows, after which are /our other leaves, This is the Preface how S. Gregory this book made, in Saxon, with an in- terlineary English translation, and afterwards the same preface in Latin ; it must be recollected, that the body of the work alone is paged, the other leaves, both at the commencement and the termination, are not numbered Dr. Dibdin ob- sen'es, that this is one of the rarest and most important volumes which ever issued from the press of Dav, and exhibits another splendid mo- nument of the noble spirit of patronage of arch- bishop Parker ; for there is every reason to think that be sustained the cost of the publication.

In addition to his Saxon and Italian types, Herbert states that Day brought the Greek to a very great perfection. " Day seems indeed," remarks Dr. Dibdin, while speaking of this sub- ject, " to have been (if we except Grafton) the Plantin of old English typographers ; while his character and reputation scarcely suffer diminu- tion from a comparison with those of his illustri- ous contemporary just mentioned.'' He made a multitude of mathematical schemes, maps, and other devices, both in wood and metal ; his own head and arms, with other people's, and what- ever tended to the usefulness and beauty of his works." When the Puritanic Adtnonition to the Parliament (in which the government of the English church, bishops, See. were attacked with great severity) first appeared, a very close search was made for the printers of it, in which " Day the printer, and Toye the bookbinder," were engaged with a pursuivant and other officers by- appointment of the bench of bishops. Several were found and examined, one of whom was

original manuscript, "to a word,'' and that the archbishop delayed the publication, "of which there had been great expectation among the learned," owing to his care in cor- recting, printing, and having a few iveseutation copies bonno, " wherein he was very curious." — I4fe of Parker, pp. 471, S3».
 * Strype informs us that this work was printed from an

VjOOQ IC