Patents, Pictures and Patronage

John Day (1522-1584) is generally acknowledged to be the foremost English printer of the latter sixteenth-century. As well as printing some of the most important books of his day, most notably John Foxe's Acts and Monuments, he also pioneered enormous advances in English typography and book illustration. Yet despite his legacy, this book is the first full-length study to investigate Day's life and legacy.The study sets Day in the context of the sixteenth century printing industry,...
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John Day (1522-1584) is generally acknowledged to be the foremost English printer of the latter sixteenth-century. As well as printing some of the most important books of his day, most notably John Foxe's Acts and Monuments, he also pioneered enormous advances in English typography and book illustration. Yet despite his legacy, this book is the first full-length study to investigate Day's life and legacy.The study sets Day in the context of the sixteenth century printing industry, examines his disputed origins and establishment as a London printer and discusses his career together with the most significant works he printed. Throughout the book it is argued that Day's printing empire and wealth were founded on a combination of two crucial factors: outstanding technical skills, and the ability to attract influential patrons. This combination not only provided Day with great wealth, but enabled him to change the face of English printing and arguably to exert a lasting influence on the course of the English Reformation.