Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte for Severne, at jd. the pece. Summa, 20d.
Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte of collectours and receyvours, at jd, the pece, 20d.
Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte for making of coverlettes in Yorke, at jd. the pece. Summa, 20d.
Item xx of the Proclamacions, that persones beyng noe comon surgions may ministre outewarde medicynes, at ob. the pece. Summa, 10d.
Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte for certeyne of the Kinges maiesties counsaill to sett prices of wynes; at ob. the pece. Summa, 10d.
Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte for true making of pynnes, at qᵃ the pece, 5d.
Item xx Proclamacions of the Acte for true making of frises and cottons in Wales; at ob. the pece. Summa, 10d.
Summa totalis, cxvijli vj. d. ob.
THOMAS AUDELEY,
Cancellarius.
The consideration of Thomas Berthelet as a printer is foreign to my present purpose; the subject is a large one, and requires special treatment and a long and careful study. There are more works left that were printed by Berthelet than there are of any other of our early English printers, and the greater number of the works he chose for reproduction are important and valuable,—147 books are known to have been printed by him. Many of Berthelet’s types are very beautiful. Some of them are black letter; perhaps one of the finest founts is that used for the Confessio Amantis of John Gower. Plate II. shows a reproduction of the beautiful title-page of this book, of which I believe the border is one of Berthelet’s own designing, or at all events made by the design of the stamps used on his bindings; the resemblance of many of the black curves printed in this book to those used in gold on the leather will be at once apparent. Whenever any student ventures upon a close examination of the printed work of Berthelet, he will be met with an important initial difficulty, which is, that Berthelet’s nephew and successor, Thomas Powell, was misguided enough to leave out the word “late” on several of his imprints; that is to say, he printed many books absolutely as if they had been issued by Berthelet himself, using the same types and the same trade expressions altogether. In many instances it will be almost impossible to decide definitely whether a particular book was printed by the master himself or only by his man.