27:
618:, offering to step aside from his business if his son John (see below) would be among the twenty master printers. His effort was futile; neither Okes was among the restricted group of masters. The Stuarts, however, were better at proclaiming laws than at enforcing them; and they were distracted by other aspects of the political turmoil leading up to the
477:
Like most printers of his historical period, Okes concentrated on printing, and left publishing decisions to the booksellers who commissioned jobs from him. And yet, again like most printers of the era, Okes did a limited amount of publishing himself. (Booksellers and printers were all members of the
140:
on 5 December 1603. His career advanced in 1606, in connection with the printing establishment of George and Lionel
Snowden; Lionel left the firm and Okes took the man's place as George Snowden's partner (29 January 1606). Snowden, in turn, left the business on 13 April 1607, when Okes bought him
163:
In a career that spanned more than three decades, Okes printed materials on a wide variety of subjects: history, literature, religion, science and mathematics, trade, travel, geography, cartography, even cookbooks. Yet his play texts have attracted the lion's share of attention from scholars,
715:
John Okes died in 1644. His widow Mary continued his business, like some other stationers' widows did; but she does not appear to have succeeded or endured. For a brief historical moment, however, Mary Okes was at the center of attention of the
English nation – when she testified about the
218:. Okes worked on several projects with Walkley in the years around 1622 – though he also took Walkley to court in a financial dispute. (This in itself was not unusual: Walkley struggled financially in his early years in business and was sued by other colleagues, too.)
712:(1640). (Like his father, printer/publisher John Okes needed a retail outlet for his products; his edition of Rowley's play was sold by bookseller John Cooper.) The younger Okes continued in his father's role as a primary publisher of Heywood's non-dramatic prose.
478:
Stationers
Company, and could publish books and other works; but the practicalities of the retail book business made booksellers the logical and primary publishers.) Okes's title pages identify his business as "near Holborn Bridge" and "in Foster Lane."
625:
At this historical remove, it is impossible to say whether Okes's choices over the problematic works he printed stemmed from economic motives, religious or political values, simple stubbornness, or a commitment to the earliest concepts of
156:
The
Snowden firm was long-standing, having been founded in 1586 by Thomas Judson; though at the start Okes possessed only a single press, two workmen, and a limited supply of type. Over time, however, Okes built a successful concern.
638:
John Okes, son of
Nicholas, served an apprenticeship under his father and became a freeman of the Stationers Company on 14 January 1627. For some years he was in partnership with his father; together they printed Heywood's
509:(1612); in that volume, Heywood included an address "to his approved good friend, Nicholas Okes," that praises the printer's "care and workmanship" and calls him "careful and industrious" and "serious and laborious."
200:
was the first play (of many) printed by Okes; it has been argued that some of the peculiarities in that intensely studied volume resulted from the inexperience of Okes and his compositors with works of drama.
512:
Okes also published the texts of some of the city entertainments common in the era, including several written by Thomas
Middleton when he was City Chronologer of London, plus others by John Webster and
137:
614:
was planning to restrict the number of master printers to a total of twenty; and given his record, he knew that he would not be among those twenty. Okes wrote a letter to
1208:
390:
on 28 April 1615 – not by publisher Burre as would have been the norm, but by printer Okes; which suggests that Okes was more than just the printer hired for the job.)
591:
served time in jail for his professional activities. Okes was in difficulties throughout his career for printing works without official approval; when he printed
1198:
1193:
1188:
937:
904:
279:
917:
885:
382:(In some cases, the line between bookseller/publisher and printer may not have been as clear-cut as in others. It is worth noting that
422:
243:
Okes printed a range of other texts in
Jacobean and Caroline drama, beyond the confines of the Shakespeare canon. They include:
1203:
160:
In
February 1624, at St. Faith's in London, Okes married Mary Pursett, daughter of a fellow stationer, Christopher Pursett.
654:
John Okes continued in business on his own after his father's retirement; he was situated in Little St. Bartholomew's near
441:
Inevitably, Okes also printed works of many sorts that had nothing to do with the drama; these included religious works by
1051:
980:
364:
1173:
541:
599:(1621) without registration, Okes ended up in jail himself. He was imprisoned again in 1637, for his second edition of
1031:
81:
697:
1183:
833:
A Dictionary of the
Booksellers and Printers Who Were at Work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1641 to 1667,
785:
708:
721:
182:
edition, O4; often called, inaccurately, Q5). In the following year, 1608, Okes printed the famous and crucial
962:
579:
A number of printers and publishers of Okes's era got into trouble with the strict censorship policies of the
1137:
1117:
1006:
878:
702:
387:
355:
133:
555:
Printers who published usually needed a retail outlet for their wares. The title page of Okes's edition of
863:
520:
As with his printing, Okes published non-dramatic works as well as plays. One example is Samuel Daniel's
1142:
328:
232:
113:
607:
Okes had altered the text after it was approved by the authorities, re-inserting
Catholic phraseology.
304:
1178:
684:
664:
627:
342:
261:
101:
84:. He was responsible for early editions of works by many of the playwrights of the period, including
895:
756:
678:
174:
150:
85:
1127:
871:
655:
644:
536:(1618–19), one of the chivalric romances that were enormously popular in the era. Okes published
69:
45:
776:
The New Cambridge Shakespeare: The Early Quartos. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
689:
619:
559:
states that the book would be sold by Benjamin Lightfoote. Okes's edition of Richard Jobson's
1147:
1036:
1026:
1021:
927:
600:
584:
469:(1617) for Thomas Archer – one of the few works authored by a woman printed in this period.
417:
399:
333:
270:
193:
97:
1152:
1122:
1046:
580:
564:
288:
252:
247:
505:(1615, 1632). He published some of Heywood's non-dramatic prose, including his important
1071:
1061:
1016:
1001:
740:
529:
514:
427:
215:
141:
out. Okes continued to use the Snowden's characteristic device, a winged horse above a
105:
1167:
1107:
1076:
1066:
1056:
1041:
1011:
975:
970:
761:
The Texts of King Lear and Their Origins; Vol. 1: Nicholas Okes and the First Quarto,
673:
669:
659:
592:
462:
434:
409:
347:
311:
109:
1102:
1097:
996:
947:
615:
611:
321:
183:
172:
One of Okes's earliest jobs was the printing of the fifth edition of Shakespeare's
128:
for the elementary education of small children; Okes's grandfather may have been a
93:
77:
73:
1081:
952:
942:
912:
545:
227:
1112:
932:
442:
89:
316:
205:
188:
179:
820:
Dictionary of Literary and Dramatic Censorship in Tudor and Stuart England.
142:
125:
450:
404:(1615, 1616, 1635), for Robert Basse (#3, #4) and Richard Collins (#6);
210:
225:(1607) for Francis Faulkner and Henry Bell. This was a key source for
922:
835:
The Bibliographical Society/Blades, East & Blades, 1907; p. 141.
792:
4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; pp. 345, 383, 498, 509–10.
568:
136:
at Christmas 1595. He was made a "freeman" (full member) of the
129:
867:
20:
622:. The Okes firm managed to stay in business "by indulgence."
393:
The above list represents first editions. Okes also printed:
501:(1632), as well as the first and second quarto of Heywood's
132:
player. Nicholas Okes began his apprenticeship with printer
610:
The 1637 trouble was serious. Okes probably knew that the
221:
In a more remote Shakespearean connection, Okes printed
563:(1623) was sold by Nicholas Bourne; his edition of Sir
696:
for Daniel Frere (all 1640). He printed and published
378:
and some of the city entertainments of Thomas Dekker.
280:
Speculum Topographicum, or The Topographicall Glassee
178:(1607) for the bookseller John Harrison (the fourth
1090:
989:
961:
903:
583:, resulting in fines and occasional imprisonment.
550:A Description of the Admirable Table of Logarithms
538:A Short Treatise on Magnetical Bodies and Motions
449:(1617). He printed Robert Tofte's translation of
397:the third, fourth, and sixth quartos of Dekker's
822:Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2001: pp. 169–70.
457:(1608) for Roger Jackson, and Gervase Markham's
124:Okes was the son of a "horner," a man who made
481:Okes published the first quartos of Heywood's
461:(1613) for Thomas Saunders. Okes also printed
879:
8:
855:Anthony Munday and the Catholics, 1560–1633.
763:Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982.
375:(1634), for John Jackson and Francis Church;
265:(1609), for Richard Bonian and Henry Walley;
886:
872:
864:
407:the second and third editions of Tomkis's
149:Q1) – though he later used an ornament of
223:The Merry Conceited Jests of George Peele
1209:17th-century English publishers (people)
524:(1618); another is Robert Chamberlain's
522:The Collection of the History of England
26:
733:
153:riding an eagle between two oak trees.
80:eras, remembered for printing works of
445:and others – and also Thomas Cooper's
540:(1613) by Mark Ridley, a follower of
7:
641:The Royal King and the Loyal Subject
437:'s plays (1623), for Simon Waterson.
1199:17th-century English businesspeople
1194:16th-century English businesspeople
918:List of Shakespeare plays in quarto
649:The Lives of All the Roman Emperors
745:A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964,
14:
747:Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 341.
416:the second and third editions of
413:(1617, 1622), for Simon Waterson;
423:The Knight of the Burning Pestle
204:In 1622, Okes printed the first
25:
1189:Publishers (people) from London
571:(1620) was sold by John Wells.
337:(1620, 1622), both for Walkley;
324:(plus two subsequent editions);
292:(1612), also for Thomas Archer;
774:The First Quarto of King Lear,
605:Introduction to a Devout Life.
1:
857:London, Ashgate, 2005; p. 99.
718:Introduction to a Devout Life
643:(1637) for James Becket, and
164:critics, and bibliographers.
503:The Four Prentices of London
368:(1633), for Richard Collins;
36:appears to contradict itself
706:(1638) and Jonson's masque
499:The Iron Age, Parts 1 and 2
283:(1611), for Simon Waterson;
16:English printer (died 1645)
1225:
805:in Nicholas Okes's Shop."
651:(1636) for George Hutton.
274:(1611), for Thomas Archer;
231:, one of the plays of the
844:Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 473.
709:The Gypsies Metamorphosed
447:The Mystery of Witchcraft
433:the collected edition of
327:the first two quartos of
308:(1614), for John Trundle;
145:(as on the title page of
82:English Renaissance drama
72:printer in London of the
722:trial of Archbishop Laud
299:(1613), for Samuel Rand;
34:This article or section
807:Studies in Bibliography
703:A Shoemaker a Gentleman
587:, Okes's publisher for
467:A Muzzle for Melastomus
365:'Tis Pity She's a Whore
359:(1629), for John Grove;
268:Dekker and Middleton's
256:(1608), for John Bache;
809:39 (1986), pp. 135–76.
790:The Elizabethan Stage,
694:The Unfortunate Mother
692:, and Thomas Nabbes's
526:A New Book of Mistakes
373:A Maidenhead Well Lost
1204:17th-century printers
831:Henry Robert Plomer,
528:(1637). He published
507:An Apology for Actors
386:was entered into the
329:Beaumont and Fletcher
233:Shakespeare Apocrypha
48:for more information.
665:The Grateful Servant
628:freedom of the press
388:Stationers' Register
343:The Duchess of Malfi
262:The Masque of Queens
40:on the year of death
1174:16th-century births
896:William Shakespeare
853:Hamilton, Donna B.
801:Hammond, Anthony. "
772:Jay L. Halio, ed.,
757:Peter W. M. Blayney
720:matter at the 1644
679:The Sparagus Garden
459:The English Arcadia
175:The Rape of Lucrece
86:William Shakespeare
68:(died 1645) was an
1128:Augustine Matthews
905:Folios and quartos
894:Early editions of
818:Auchter, Dorothy.
645:Richard Brathwaite
567:'s translation of
532:'s translation of
305:Greene's Tu Quoque
138:Stationers Company
1161:
1160:
1052:Thomas Millington
690:Francis Constable
620:English Civil War
595:'s controversial
63:
62:
1216:
1184:English printers
1148:Valentine Simmes
1037:Henry Herringman
1027:Philip Chetwinde
1022:Nathaniel Butter
888:
881:
874:
865:
858:
851:
845:
842:
836:
829:
823:
816:
810:
799:
793:
783:
777:
770:
764:
754:
748:
738:
601:Francis de Sales
585:Nathaniel Butter
561:The Golden Trade
426:(both 1635) for
418:Francis Beaumont
400:The Honest Whore
277:Arthur Hopton's
271:The Roaring Girl
194:Nathaniel Butter
98:Thomas Middleton
58:
55:
49:
29:
28:
21:
1224:
1223:
1219:
1218:
1217:
1215:
1214:
1213:
1164:
1163:
1162:
1157:
1153:William Stansby
1123:William Jaggard
1086:
1047:Richard Meighen
1032:Richard Hawkins
985:
957:
899:
892:
862:
861:
852:
848:
843:
839:
830:
826:
817:
813:
803:The White Devil
800:
796:
784:
780:
771:
767:
755:
751:
739:
735:
730:
636:
616:Archbishop Laud
577:
565:Thomas Overbury
542:William Gilbert
497:(1613) and his
475:
289:The White Devil
253:The Dumb Knight
248:Gervase Markham
241:
170:
122:
59:
53:
50:
44:Please see the
43:
30:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1222:
1220:
1212:
1211:
1206:
1201:
1196:
1191:
1186:
1181:
1176:
1166:
1165:
1159:
1158:
1156:
1155:
1150:
1145:
1140:
1135:
1130:
1125:
1120:
1115:
1110:
1105:
1100:
1094:
1092:
1088:
1087:
1085:
1084:
1079:
1074:
1072:Thomas Walkley
1069:
1064:
1062:John Smethwick
1059:
1054:
1049:
1044:
1039:
1034:
1029:
1024:
1019:
1017:Cuthbert Burby
1014:
1009:
1004:
1002:William Aspley
999:
993:
991:
987:
986:
984:
983:
978:
973:
967:
965:
959:
958:
956:
955:
950:
945:
940:
935:
930:
925:
920:
915:
909:
907:
901:
900:
893:
891:
890:
883:
876:
868:
860:
859:
846:
837:
824:
811:
794:
786:E. K. Chambers
778:
765:
749:
741:F. E. Halliday
732:
731:
729:
726:
698:William Rowley
635:
634:Father and son
632:
576:
573:
557:The Silver Age
534:Amadis de Gaul
530:Anthony Munday
515:Anthony Munday
495:The Brazen Age
491:The Silver Age
487:The Golden Age
474:
471:
439:
438:
431:
428:John Smethwick
414:
405:
380:
379:
376:
369:
360:
351:
338:
325:
309:
300:
297:The Brazen Age
293:
284:
275:
266:
257:
240:
237:
216:Thomas Walkley
169:
166:
121:
118:
106:Thomas Heywood
61:
60:
33:
31:
24:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1221:
1210:
1207:
1205:
1202:
1200:
1197:
1195:
1192:
1190:
1187:
1185:
1182:
1180:
1177:
1175:
1172:
1171:
1169:
1154:
1151:
1149:
1146:
1144:
1141:
1139:
1138:James Roberts
1136:
1134:
1133:Nicholas Okes
1131:
1129:
1126:
1124:
1121:
1119:
1118:Richard Field
1116:
1114:
1111:
1109:
1108:Thomas Creede
1106:
1104:
1101:
1099:
1096:
1095:
1093:
1089:
1083:
1080:
1078:
1077:John Waterson
1075:
1073:
1070:
1068:
1067:Thomas Thorpe
1065:
1063:
1060:
1058:
1057:Thomas Pavier
1055:
1053:
1050:
1048:
1045:
1043:
1042:William Leake
1040:
1038:
1035:
1033:
1030:
1028:
1025:
1023:
1020:
1018:
1015:
1013:
1012:Edward Blount
1010:
1008:
1005:
1003:
1000:
998:
995:
994:
992:
988:
982:
981:Edward Knight
979:
977:
976:Henry Condell
974:
972:
971:John Heminges
969:
968:
966:
964:
963:Early editors
960:
954:
951:
949:
946:
944:
941:
939:
936:
934:
931:
929:
926:
924:
921:
919:
916:
914:
911:
910:
908:
906:
902:
897:
889:
884:
882:
877:
875:
870:
869:
866:
856:
850:
847:
841:
838:
834:
828:
825:
821:
815:
812:
808:
804:
798:
795:
791:
787:
782:
779:
775:
769:
766:
762:
758:
753:
750:
746:
742:
737:
734:
727:
725:
723:
719:
713:
711:
710:
705:
704:
699:
695:
691:
687:
686:
685:The Antipodes
681:
680:
675:
674:Richard Brome
671:
670:William Leake
667:
666:
661:
660:James Shirley
658:. He printed
657:
652:
650:
646:
642:
633:
631:
629:
623:
621:
617:
613:
608:
606:
602:
598:
594:
593:George Wither
590:
586:
582:
581:Stuart regime
574:
572:
570:
566:
562:
558:
553:
551:
547:
543:
539:
535:
531:
527:
523:
518:
516:
510:
508:
504:
500:
496:
492:
488:
484:
479:
472:
470:
468:
464:
463:Rachel Speght
460:
456:
452:
448:
444:
436:
435:Samuel Daniel
432:
429:
425:
424:
419:
415:
412:
411:
406:
403:
401:
396:
395:
394:
391:
389:
385:
377:
374:
370:
367:
366:
361:
358:
357:
352:
349:
348:John Waterson
345:
344:
339:
336:
335:
330:
326:
323:
319:
318:
313:
312:Thomas Tomkis
310:
307:
306:
302:John Cooke's
301:
298:
294:
291:
290:
285:
282:
281:
276:
273:
272:
267:
264:
263:
258:
255:
254:
249:
246:
245:
244:
238:
236:
234:
230:
229:
224:
219:
217:
213:
212:
207:
202:
199:
195:
191:
190:
185:
181:
177:
176:
167:
165:
161:
158:
154:
152:
148:
144:
139:
135:
134:Richard Field
131:
127:
120:Life and work
119:
117:
115:
111:
110:James Shirley
107:
103:
102:Thomas Dekker
99:
95:
91:
87:
83:
79:
75:
71:
67:
66:Nicholas Okes
57:
47:
41:
37:
32:
23:
22:
19:
1132:
1103:Thomas Cotes
1098:Edward Allde
997:Robert Allot
948:Second Folio
938:First Quarto
854:
849:
840:
832:
827:
819:
814:
806:
802:
797:
789:
781:
773:
768:
760:
752:
744:
736:
717:
714:
707:
701:
693:
683:
677:
663:
653:
648:
640:
637:
624:
612:Star Chamber
609:
604:
596:
588:
578:
560:
556:
554:
549:
537:
533:
525:
521:
519:
511:
506:
502:
498:
494:
490:
486:
482:
480:
476:
466:
458:
454:
446:
440:
421:
408:
398:
392:
383:
381:
372:
363:
354:
346:(1623), for
341:
332:
322:Walter Burre
320:(1615), for
315:
303:
296:
287:
278:
269:
260:
251:
242:
226:
222:
220:
209:
203:
197:
187:
184:first quarto
173:
171:
162:
159:
155:
146:
123:
94:John Webster
65:
64:
51:
39:
35:
18:
1179:1645 deaths
1143:Peter Short
1082:Andrew Wise
1007:John Benson
953:False Folio
943:First Folio
913:Foul papers
668:(1637) for
575:Controversy
546:John Napier
356:The Wedding
228:The Puritan
168:Shakespeare
1168:Categories
1113:George Eld
990:Publishers
933:Bad quarto
728:References
656:Smithfield
473:Publishing
443:John Donne
371:Heywood's
353:Shirley's
340:Webster's
295:Heywood's
286:Webster's
239:And others
90:Ben Jonson
485:quintet:
384:Albumazar
334:Philaster
317:Albumazar
259:Jonson's
189:King Lear
126:hornbooks
114:John Ford
54:July 2024
46:talk page
1091:Printers
898:'s works
700:'s play
552:(1616).
493:(1613),
489:(1611),
402:, Part 1
196:. Q1 of
143:caduceus
78:Caroline
74:Jacobean
597:Satires
455:Satires
451:Ariosto
362:Ford's
211:Othello
151:Jupiter
70:English
923:Quarto
672:; and
544:, and
410:Lingua
206:quarto
180:octavo
112:, and
38:
928:Folio
589:Lear,
147:Lear,
688:for
682:and
569:Ovid
214:for
198:Lear
192:for
130:lute
76:and
676:'s
662:'s
647:'s
548:'s
483:Age
465:'s
453:'s
420:'s
331:'s
314:'s
250:'s
208:of
186:of
1170::
788:,
759:,
743:,
724:.
630:.
603:'
517:.
235:.
116:.
108:,
104:,
100:,
96:,
92:,
88:,
887:e
880:t
873:v
430:;
350:;
56:)
52:(
42:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.