The Early Oxford Press / A Bibliography of Printing and Publishing at Oxford, '1468'-1640; With Notes, Appendixes and Illustrations - Falconer Madan

Impr. 130: 1633: sm. 4^o: pp. [36], signn. A-D⁴ E²: sign. B1^r beg. cum omnes: English Roman. Contents:—sign. A1^r, title: A2^r-2^v, dedication to sir Kenelm Digby: A3^r-E1^v, the sermon, on Matth. xvi. 18.

See Wood’s Ath. Oxon., ii. 630. Some copies of this book have the remains of a torn titlepage, apparently a cancel leaf following the ordinary title.

Impr. 113a: 1633: sm. 4^o: pp. [4] + 18 + [10]: p. 11 beg. ei periti: Great Primer Roman. Contents:—p. (1) title: (3–4) dedication to sir Kenelm Digby, signed “Rich. Iamesius”, the editor: 1–17, the Letter, dated “Abingdoniæ ... 4^o Kal. Aprilis”: 18, “Nota magistri Briani Twyne” about the occasion of the letter: (1–7) three Latin poems and a Latin note by James on Cotton and Allen.

See Wood’s Ath. Oxon., i. 85, ii. 630. This is a rather uncommon book, containing a persuasive to the study of Greek, written in 1518, probably at the king’s instigation. The opponents of the New Learning called themselves Trojans in opposition to the Grecians. The letter is reprinted by Hearne in his edition of Roper’s Life of More (Oxf. 1716, 8^o). Sir Robert Cotton died in 1631, and Thomas Allen of Gloucester hall in Oxford in 1632.

Impr. 131: 1633: sm. 4^o: pp. [72], signn. §, §§⁴, §§§², A, “BC”, D-G⁴, H²: sign. BC1^r beg. Nec morbos: English Roman. Contents:—sign. §1^r, title: §2^r-H2^r, the poems: H2^v, device and impr. 132.

The occasion of these verses seems to have been an illness of the King late in 1632. Most of the poems are Latin, but four are English and one Greek. One of the printers (W. Turner) contributes some Latin verses. An anagram occurs in the title, and a chronogram (1632) on E1^v. There are curious variations in issues, and marks (see the register of signatures) of the difficulty of obtaining and marshalling in order these collections of separate poems. The early issues of sheet A on A3^r print “R. Nevvlin S. T. B.”, the later and common ones insert C. C. C. after the name, as also in A1^v, A3^r (twice): so “Nov. C.” is inserted on A4^v, cf. A2^v. An interesting copy is in the British Museum, being the one specially printed for the King’s personal acceptance. The differences are that the book is on larger paper (the size even as bound and cut down being 7⅞ × 6 in.), and the title entirely reprinted. Every line of the title is in larger type and spread out laterally, except the anagram itself and imprint: also ll. 1 and 4 are roman, not italic, and ll. 3, 4, 6, 7 are printed in gold. In l. 6 the two Vs are lower case Us, and in l. 7 Rex appears as Rex. So too the device is altered, and it is amusing to see that the imprint, for fear of royal vengeance, is altered from the English “W. T.” (William Turner) to the Latin “G. T.”! This fact shows also that the last and not the first copy was struck off for the King, sheet A agreeing with this in being the later issue (see above).