The Stationers’ Company included Stationers, Booksellers, Binders and Printers; apprenticeship to either of these trades conferred the right of freedom in the company, but the position of printer was a prize which could not be attained purely by apprenticeship; before the Long Parliament this privilege was confined to twenty-two Printing Houses only besides the Royal Printers, vacancies being filled up by the Court of Assistants, with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Any stationer who had been made free of his Company might publish books, but printing was strictly limited to these twenty-two houses. A vacancy seldom occurred, because, according to the old English custom, on the printer’s death his rights were retained by his widow, and in this Company they were not even alienated when she married again, but were shared by her second husband; thus a printer’s widow, whatever her age might be, was regarded as a most desirable “partie.” The widow Francis Simson married in succession Richard Read and George Elde, the business following her, and Anne Barton married a second, third and fourth time,[307] none of the later husbands being printers. Footnote 307: Arber, _Stationers_, Vol. V., Intro. xxix-xxx. Though amongst the printers the line of descent appears to have been more often from husband to wife and wife to husband than from father to son, a list, giving the names of the master printers as they succeeded each other from 1575 to 1635 shows that the business was acquired by marrying the printer’s widow, by purchase from her, and also by descent. Four women are mentioned:—William Ells bound to Mrs. East, a printer’s widow who, having left the trade many years was brought up in the art of printing by Mr. Fletcher upon composition. Mrs. Griffyn had two apprentices, Mrs. Dawson had three apprentices and Mrs. Purslow two apprentices.[308] Another list made in 1630 of the names of the Master Printers of London gives twenty-one men and three women, namely—Widdow Alde, Widdow Griffin, and “Widdow Sherleaker lives by printing of pictures.”[309] In 1634 the names of twenty-two printers are given, among whom are the following women—“Mr. William Jones succeeded Rafe Blore and paies a stipend to his wife ... neuer admitted.” Footnote 308: _S.P.D._, cccxiv., 127., Feb. 1636. Footnote 309: _Ibid._ clxxv., 45., Nov. 12, 1630. Mistris [ ] Alde, widdowe of Edward Alde [who] deceased about 10 yeeres since, (but she keepes her trade by her sonne who was Ra[lph] joyners sonne) neuer Admitted, neither capable of Admittance. Mistris [ ] Dawson widow of John Dawson deceased about a yeere since [he] succeeded his vnkle Thomas Dawson about 26 yeers since ... never admitted neither capeable, (she hath a sonne about 19 yeares old, bredd to ye trade). Mistris [ ] Pursloe widdow of George Pursloe who succeeded Simon Stafford about 5 yeeres since [she was] never admitted neither capeable. (haviland, Yo[u]ng and fletcher haue this.)