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.