A Short History of English Printing, 1476-1898Plomer, Henry R. (Henry Robert)
History
A Short History of English Printing, 1476-1898
Plomer, Henry R. (Henry Robert)
England -- Imprints; Printing -- England -- History
It does not follow that because Day's name occurs in the charter that
he was in England in 1556, but he certainly was so in the following
year, for there is a Sarum Missal of that date with his imprint, besides
several other books, including Thomas Tusser's _Hundred Points of Good
Husserye_ (_i.e._ Housewifery); William Bullein's _Government of
Health_, and sundry proclamations. But it was not until 1559 that his
books began to show that excellence of workmanship that laid the
foundation of his fame. In that year he issued in folio _The
Cosmographicall Glasse_ of William Cunningham, a physician of Norwich.
As a specimen of the printer's art this was far in advance of any of
Day's previous work, and, moreover, was in advance of anything seen in
England before that time. The text was printed in a large, flowing
italic letter of great beauty, further enhanced by several well-executed
woodcut initials. Amongst these was a letter 'D,' containing the arms of
the Earl of Leicester, to whom the work was dedicated. There were also
scattered through the book several diagrams and maps, a fine portrait of
the author, and a plan of the city of Norwich. Some of these
illustrations and initials were signed J. B., others J. D. The
title-page was also engraved with allegorical figures of the arts and
sciences. There can be very little doubt that Day had spent his time
abroad in studying the best models in the typographical art.
Students and lovers of good books may well pay a tribute to the memory
of that scholarly churchman, who rescued so many of the books that were
scattered at the dissolution of the monasteries, and enriched Cambridge
University and some of its colleges by his gifts of books and
manuscripts. But Matthew Parker did not stop short at book-collecting.
He believed that good books should be well printed, and on his accession
to power under Elizabeth, he encouraged John Day and others, both with
his authority and his purse, to cut new founts of type and to print
books in a worthy form.
In 1560 Day began to print the collected works of Thomas Becon, the
reformer. The whole impression occupied three large folio volumes, and
was not completed until 1564. The founts chiefly used in this were black
letter of two sizes, supplemented with italic and Roman. The initials
used in the _Cosmographicall Glasse_ appeared again in this, and the
title-page to each part was enclosed in an elaborate architectural
border, having in the bottom panel Day's small device, a block showing a
sleeper awakened, and the words, 'Arise, for it is Day.' At the end was
a fine portrait of the printer.
Another important undertaking of the year 1560 was a folio edition of
the _Commentaries_ of Joannes Philippson, otherwise Sleidanus. This Day
printed for Nicholas England, the fount of large italic being used in
conjunction with black letter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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