Home | Launch conference | Methodology | Editorial board | Acknowledgements | Contact








Core documents by:
Date
Place



Core documents for:
Italy
Germany
France
Britain
United States


All documents for:
Italy
Germany
France
Britain
United States


Original language:
English
French
German
Italian
Latin


Browse documents by:
   Person
... by name
... by occupation
... by life dates

Place
Institution
Legislation
Case law


Browse commentaries by:
   Person
... by name
... by occupation
... by life dates

Place
Institution
Legislation
Case law


Browse database by:
Key words






Editors' login:




Day's privilege for The Cosmographical Glass, Westminster (1559)

Source:
Photographed by the National Editor at the National Archives

Citation:
Day's privilege for The Cosmographical Glass (1559), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org

Record Images Commentary


Record-ID:
uk_1559b

Full title
John Day's privilege for printing William Conningham's The Cosmographical Glass (11 November 1559)

Full title original language
N/A

Abstract
An early example of a printing privilege granted to protect the printing of an individual work, in this case William Conningham's The Cosmographical Glass. The commentary describes the early attitudes of the monarchy towards the regulation of the printing trade within England, and the exercise of the royal prerogative in granting printing privileges not just to the royal printer, but to other favoured subjects both in relation to individual works as well as to entire classes of work (with the latter more often referred to as printing patents).

Bibliography
Bennett, H.S., English Books & Readers, 1475 to 1557 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952)
Clegg, C.S., Press Censorship in Elizabethan England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997)
Feather, J., A History of British Publishing (London & New York: Routledge, 1988)
Siebert, F.S., Freedom of the Press in England 1476-1776 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965)

Related documents in this database

Author
N/A

Publisher
n.p.

Location
Westminster

Year
1559

Language
English

Source
Photographed by the National Editor at the National Archives

Physical description
N/A

Illustrations tables
N/A

Persons referred to
Cawood, John (1514-1572)
Cuningham, William (fl.1559)
Day, John (1521/22-1584)
Edward VI (1537-1553)
Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
Jugge, Richard (c.1514-1577)

Persons referred to in commentary
Actors, Peter (fl.1485)
Berthelet, Thomas (d.1555)
Calye, Robert (fl.1558)
Cawood, John (1514-1572)
Caxton, William (c.1422-c.1492)
Chepman, Walter (c.1473-c.1528)
Cromwell, Thomas (c.1485-1540)
Day, John (1521/22-1584)
Facques, William (fl.1504)
Grafton, Richard (d.1572)
Henry VII (1457-1509)
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
James IV (1473-1513)
Jugge, Richard (c.1514-1577)
Myllar, Androw (fl.1508)
Phayer, Thomas (1510-1560)
Pynson, Richard (c.1449-1529/30)
Virgil (70 B.C.-19 B.C.)
Whitechurch, Edward (fl.1545)
Worde, Wynkyn de (d.1535)

Places referred to
England
France
Ireland
London
Westminster

Places referred to in commentary
Alsace
England
France
Germany
Italy
London
Poland
Portugal
Rome
Scotland
Westminster

Legislation referred to
N/A

Legislation referred to in commentary
In what Sort Italian Merchants may sell Merchandises; Several Restraints of Aliens, 1484, 1 Ric.III, c.9
What Apprentices strange Artificers shall take, &c., 1523, 14&15 Hen.VIII, c.2
Touching Artificers Strangers, what they may do as concerning retaining Apprentices, Journeymen, &c., 1529, 21 Hen.VIII, c.16
Act of Supremacy, 1534, 26 Hen.VIII, c.1
An Act for Printers, and Binders of Books, 1534, 25 Hen.VIII, c.15
An Act whereby Offences be made High treason, and taking away all Sanctuaries for all manner of High Treasons, 1534, 26 Hen.VIII, c.13
Statute of Anne, 1710, 8 Anne, c.19

Cases referred to
N/A

Cases referred to in commentary
N/A

Institutions referred to
N/A

Institutions referred to in commentary
Privy Council
Stationers' Company

Key words
book trade
books, protected subject matter
censorship, pre-publication
duration
guild regulation
learning, the advancement of
penalties, paid to fiscal authorities
printing, history of
privileges, printing
Reformation, the

Responsible editor
Ronan Deazley




Copyright status

Original document is out of copyright. In so far as these scans are protected by copyright, they are made available on the same terms as translations and commentaries (see home page).




Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DZ, UK