The last twenty years of Henry VIII.’s reign was an anxious time for printers and booksellers; it seemed impossible to foretell what might safely be printed. Books which one year were condemned to be burnt appeared a couple of years afterwards, “cum privilegio regali.” During these years, therefore, we find the provincial press almost entirely unrepresented: between 1538 and 1548 not a single book was printed, at any rate overtly, and in the ten years before that, hardly half a dozen. As we have seen, the short reign of Edward VI. saw more books printed in the provincial towns than had been produced since the invention of printing, but this fruitful time was short. The accession of Mary was marked by an outpouring of seditious books which naturally did not please the ruling powers. Several enactments were issued against them, seemingly with little effect. Finally, in 1557, Philip and Mary, “considering and manifestly perceiving that several seditious and heretical books, both in verse and prose, are daily published, stamped and printed by divers scandalous, schismatical, and heretical persons, not only exciting our subjects and liegemen to sedition and disobedience against us, our crown and dignity, but also to the renewal and propagating very great and detestable heresies against the faith and sound catholic doctrine of holy mother the church,” determined upon a decisive step. The weapon they forged was ingenious. They granted a Charter to the Stationers’ Company forbidding anyone to print who did not belong to it. The stationers were naturally active in putting down anything which competed with themselves, while the King and Queen could in their turn keep a firm grasp on the stationers. The various enactments of the Stationers’ Charter practically put an end to the provincial book trade. In my brief survey of the subject I hope I have at any rate shown some of the many points of interest with which it abounds. It is one moreover eminently associated with the name of Mr Sandars. The provincial presses always had a great attraction for him, and to his liberality the University Library is indebted for many of the specimens it possesses. Perhaps what may have struck you most is how much we have yet to learn on the subject, how little we really know. A good deal of what has been said has been, not about books which we now possess, but about books which we have lost. A cloud of obscurity still hangs over the subject, but the cloud has a silver lining. Think how much there still remains for us to discover. APPENDIX I. LIST OF BOOKS PRINTED BY PROVINCIAL PRINTERS OR FOR PROVINCIAL STATIONERS. NOTE. When more than three copies of a book are known, only three are quoted, preference being given to those in the great libraries. KEY TO LIBRARIES.