PRINTERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND RESTORATION

The printer who succeeded Roger Daniel, John Legate the younger, has already been mentioned in connection with the agreement of 1639 between Buck and the Stationers. Admitted freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1619, he took over several of the books printed by his father, including Thomas's Dictionary. For many years before his appointment he had described himself as printer to the university and shortly after the grace for his election (5 July, 1650) he and William Graves, another Cambridge stationer, "entered into recognisances with two sureties of £300 each not to print any seditious or unlicensed books, pamphlets, or pictures, nor suffer their presses to be used for that purpose"—a pledge similar to that given by the brothers Buck in the previous year.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of Legate's short tenure of the office of printer is the fact that Thomas Buck, without resigning his patent, made an agreement with him and Octavian Pulleyn by which he undertook to hand over his printing rights to the Stationers' Company of London:

The said Mr Buck shall surcease to print in Cambridge, and soe long as he shall forbeare to exercise his printing place there, that the said Companie of Stationers ... shall pay unto the said Mr Buck the summe of twenty pounds per Annum....

Neither the said Thomas Buck nor his brother John Buck shall resyne their ... Patents for the Printers place, without the consent of the aforesaid John Legate ... soe as the said Mr Legate may enjoy the sole exercise of Printing in the University of Cambridge....

In regard Mr Buck hath many Bookes which he hath lately printed in Cambridge now lieing upon his hand (some whereof he hath lately printed whilst he freed Mr Legate from takeing the share of the Presse in Cambridge whereunto he had otherwise been obliged) the said Companie of Stationers shall really, and bona fide, use the utmost of their best indeavours to sell all the said bookes....

For all the letter in the Printinge house of Cambridge (mentioned in founders' Bills and bought since Mr Legate was first chosen to be a Printer in Cambridge, as also the long Primmer and Pica-greeke ...) the Companie of Stationers shall pay unto the said Thomas Buck two full third parts of the several prices they cost....

The said John Legate shall oblige himself soe to exercise the Priviledge of Printing in the University of Cambridge as may be most for the honor, and reputation of the said University, soe as the said Mr Thomas and John Buck may noe wayes be injured in their reputation, but may safely forbeare the exercise of their severall printinge Places in the said University[60].

This last obligation, however, does not appear to have been fulfilled, since Legate's patent was cancelled for neglect in 1655[61].

John Field, who followed him, was in close touch with the Parliamentary party. Before his appointment by grace of 12 October, 1655, he had been "printer to the parliament" and had produced several editions of the bible, as well as a number of political tracts.

The London Printers Lamentacon, or, the Press opprest, and overprest (? 1660) contained a violent outburst against him:

Who printed the pretended Act of the Commons of England for the setting up an High Court of Justice, for the tryall of his Martyred Majesty in 1648? Or, the Acts for abolishing King-ship, and renouncing the Royall Line and Title of the Stuarts? Or, for the Declaring what Offences should be adjudged Treason?... or, the Proclamation of 13. of September 1652 after the fight at Worcester, offering, One Thousand pound to any person, to bring in his Majesties person? but only John Feild Printer to the Parliament of England (and since by Cromwell was and is continued Printer to the University of Cambridge!) ... Have they[62] not invaded and still do intrude upon His Maiesties Royall Priviledge, Praerogative and Praeeminence.... Have they not obtained, (and now keep in their actuall possession) the Manuscript Copy of the last Translation of the holy Bible in English (attested with the hands of the Venerable and learned Translators in King James his time) ever since 6 March 1655[63]?

On receiving his appointment Field built a "large shop or printing-house" in Silver Street, the land being leased to the university by Queens' College. The new press stood on part of the site now occupied by the master's lodge of St Catharine's College, and served as the university printing house until about 1827.

Between 1650 and the year of Field's death (1668) there was, as may be seen from Appendix II, a considerable output of books from the press. Not many are of intrinsic importance, but the titles show considerable variety and a further point of interest is that the printer's copies of a large number of imprimaturs of books printed between 1656 and 1692 have been preserved[64]. Orders "for the better government of the presses and Printers" were reaffirmed by the Vice-Chancellor and Heads in 1655 and it is clear that the university at this time exercised a closer supervision over its press than in the days when Buck conducted his independent negotiations with the London Stationers. The specimen imprimatur which is reproduced overleaf shows the care with which Field preserved his authority for printing any particular book.

One of the first books printed by Field was The History of the University of Cambridge by Thomas Fuller (1655), who, in spite of his Royalist convictions, appears to have raised no objection to his work being printed by one who styled himself "one of his Highness's Printers."

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Cromwell's death in 1658 called forth the customary Musarum Cantabrigiensium Luctus & Gratulatio, containing a Hebrew poem by Cudworth; whilst two years later Field, with fine impartiality, printed Academiae Cantabrigiensis SOS???, as well as two editions of the speech delivered by Richard Love in honour of the return of Charles II and a sermon by John Spencer on the same happy theme. Several bibles were printed during this period, including a folio "with Chorograph Sculps by T. Ogilby" (1660)[65]. Field, however, did not (in the earlier years of his career, at any rate) maintain the high reputation of Cambridge bibles established by Buck and Daniel; for in 1656 William Kilburne presented a statement to the Vice-Chancellor showing a long list of errata in bibles printed by Field in 1653, 1655, and 1656. These errata were based upon an examination only of a few sheets and in a note at the end of the list it is stated:

If those severall Bibles were read over throughout, they would be found egregiously erroneous, without all question; And of the severall Impressions, there were about fower score Thousand printed, And all, or the greatest part of them sold by Mr Field and dispersed, to the great scandall of the Church[66].

Amongst the editions of classical authors printed during this period may be noted Statius (1651), Poetae Minores Graeci (1652, 1661, 1667), Terence (1654), Cicero, de Officiis etc. (1660), Homer (1664), Sophocles (1665, 1669), Sallust (1665).

Editions of Euclid appeared in 1655 and 1665, the former by Isaac Barrow, afterwards Lucasian Professor and Master of Trinity College.

A work which has a special interest in the history of the study of botany in Cambridge is Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam nascentium (1660) to which ("in gratiam tyronum") various indexes were added. The author was John Ray, of St Catharine's, afterwards Fellow of Trinity College.

Controversial theology is, of course, prominent; Ichabod: Or Five Groans of the Church (1663) prudently foresees and passionately bewails the Church's Second Fall and on the title-page is a mournful female figure holding a church in her lap.

A work of lighter fancy is University Queries, In a gentle Touch by the By (1659). One of the queries propounded runs:

Whether if the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford should be annihilated, and the revenues imployed to the publique affairs of this Commonwealth, (Religion being now out of date, and learning of no use, where men are so generally inspired,) it is not fitting that Brasen Nose College in Oxford should be exempted from that general devastation, as a memorial of the Respect they bore to Oliver late Lord Protector.

This period was not free from disputes between the university and the London Stationers. Field and his partner had in 1655 bought from Christopher and Matthew Barker "ye Manuscript Coppie of the Bible," and the right of printing it, for £1200. In August 1662 two letters were received by the Vice-Chancellor from Charles II, ordering the university to "forbeare to print the Bible and new Testament otherwise than according to the Orders of 1623 and 1629." The university appealed against this and Lord Clarendon appointed a day for hearing both parties—the King's printers and the university. Field undertook not to publish any prayer-books until further orders; Clarendon proposed "an accommodation by way of agreement," and John Pearson, Bishop of Chester, advised the university to make a composition with its rivals. From another correspondent, who signs himself W. D.[67], the Vice-Chancellor received very different advice:

The University's priviledge is looked upon as a trust for the publick good, and theire printing of these bookes will force the Londoners to print something tolerably true ... who otherwise looking meerly at gaine will not care how corruptly they print, witness the 200 blasphemy's w^ch Mr B. found in theire bibles; & the millions of faults in their schoolbookes, increasing in every edition, so long as Mr B's composition with the stationers held ... whence it was that often errors were drunk in in grammer schooles scarcely after to be corrected at the University, unlesse schoolm^rs were so careful as to correct bookes by hand before they lett theire boys have them. It being therefore the University's interest to have youths well and truly grounded in school bookes & the interest of the whole nation to have true bibles, I cannot but think the University trustees in both respects, & feare they would afterwards rew the betraying of so great a trust if they should sell it by farming[68].

The university appears to have taken this advice and a New Testament printed by Field appeared in 1666.

Field's name is found in the St Botolph's parish books from 1657 to 1668, and in 1660 he was churchwarden.

He died on 12 August, 1668, and no successor was immediately appointed, a letter being received by the Vice-Chancellor from the King requesting that the office should not be filled for a time.

At this point the names of Thomas and John Buck re-appear. In a petition to the Vice-Chancellor they repeat accusations, made against Field in 1665, both of false printing and of failure to pay sums due to the two brothers[69]. Whether the claim against Field's estate was substantiated does not appear, but it is evident that Thomas and John Buck still held their printer's patents in 1668.

The first election made after Field's death was that of Matthew Whinn, Registrary, in March, 1669; this seems, however, to have been a purely formal appointment and Field's successor was in fact John Hayes, who was elected in October of the same year, the printing having previously been leased to him for £100 a year, on the condition that there should be no further treaty with the London Stationers.

The books printed during the earlier part of Hayes's tenure of office are similar in general character to those of his predecessor John Field. Dyer describes the Andronicus Rhodius of 1679 as an editio optima and among the other books of the period will be found the usual congratulatory, or lachrymatory, symposia evoked by the funeral of Henrietta Maria, the marriage of William and Mary, the death of Charles II; several university and assize sermons; editions of Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Terence, Lucretius, Ovid, Livy, Sallust; Crashaw's Steps to the Temple and the second edition of Poemata et Epigrammata (1670); John Ray's Collection of Proverbs (1670 and 1678); editions of À Kempis, De Christo Imitando (1685), of Erasmus, Enchiridion (1685), and of North's Plutarch's Lives (1676); as well as bibles, prayer-books, and almanacks. The almanacks are an interesting feature of Cambridge printing at this period. Every year, under a pseudonymous heading (Dove, Swallow, Pond, Swan, etc.), a number of these attractive little books were issued.

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The title-page of Swan (1675) is reproduced here and in A Brief Chronology included in the book the history of the world is summarised from the Creation (4004 B.C.) and the Flood (2347 B.C.) to the building of Cambridge (635 A.D.) and the peace with the Dutch (1674 A.D.).

At this time the printing of Hebrew seems to have fallen into disuse, as Isaac Abendana, writing from Cambridge in 1673, complains:

Paravi nuperrime versionem ... sed his desunt characteres Hebr.[70]

Hayes probably remained as printer—in name, at any rate—until his death in 1705, since there is in existence a bond of 1703, by which John Hayes and John Collyer (a London stationer) promised to pay the university £150 a year so long as Hayes continued as printer[71].

A pleasant description of the printing-house in 1689 is preserved in the diary of Samuel Sewall, an American judge who visited Cambridge in that year:

By it [Katherine Hall] the Printing Room, which is about 60 foot long and 20 foot broad. Six presses. Had my cousin Hull and my name printed there. Paper windows, and a pleasant garden along one side between Katherine Hall and that. Had there a print of the Combinations[72].

During Hayes's lifetime several other appointments to the office of printer were made: John Peck (1680), Hugh Martin (1682), James Jackson (1683), Jonathan Pindar (1686), H. Jenkes (1693), another Jonathan Pindar (1697)[73]. All these appointments seem, however, to have been merely formal. They were, presumably, the last to be made in accordance with the original provision of the charter of 1534, by which the university was empowered to elect three printers simultaneously. Far more important was the arrival of Cornelius Crownfield. As early as 1694 his name appears on the title-page of Joshua Barnes's edition of Euripides of which Dyer says: "the magnificence and typographical excellence ... form an epoch in the History of Greek Printing at Cambridge. It reminds us of the blooming infancy of this useful art, and the Harlem press"; and Crownfield's appointment, in 1698 or earlier, as Inspector of the Press, was part of an energetic movement to establish Cambridge printing on a new basis.

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