(1)
In general, the usefulness of ornamental evidence increases with the
length of a book and the opportunities presented by the kind of text for the
insertion of ornamental stock. Unfortunately, no predicatable relationship
obtains between the various patterns of sharing and the appearances of
ornaments. Many short texts such as play-quartos and theological pamphlets
present no opportunity for the insertion of sharing printers' ornaments after
the preliminaries and beginning of the text, although this is not an
inviolable pattern. The first section of a short shared text could in fact be
given to a sharing printer while the printer cited in the imprint (usually
accompanied by his ornamental stock in the title and preliminaries)
completes the text without the insertion of ornamental stock. Thus Creede's
initial Yamada / Creede T6 begins the octavo text of Essays
Pt.
1 STC5775 while Stafford prints the final section (L-O); and Eld's rarely
used 'W' begins the text of
Malcontent Q1-2 STC17479-80 while Simmes prints the
second
section (F-H). Shorter texts consisting of two sub-titles or a major title and
sub-title present the opportunity for the insertion of ornamental stock. In the
octavo Of the Calling of the Ministerie Two Treatises
STC19733 (1605), Roberts's imprint and ornaments appear in the
preliminaries and his two fonts alternate in the first treatise in
1BC.
"The Second Treatise" shifts to a repeated alphabet with Yamada/Creede
initial I1 in 2B1 heading the text in 2B-K
which is printed in
Creede-4.[12]
In longer texts, divisions by books and chapters frequently occasion
a shift in ornamental stock between shared sections which is almost
inevitably accompanied by a shift in fonts except in instances of borrowing.
Printers sometimes concluded intermediate shared sections with a favorite
ornament to fill space even though the text continued in the next section.
In general, it is therefore advisable to check for a shift in fonts before and
after the textual appearance of an ornament or initial even when the piece
is identified in the references. This approach usually clarifies whether a
boundary between shared sections obtains. In some instances, the divisions
of shared sections do not coincide with the points at which ornaments
appear. For example, it seems clear that a decision to begin each chapter
with an initial accompanied the jobbing out of An Answer
STC12988 with the result that each of the six printers had the opportunity
to insert at least one initial. However, only
Braddock's 'H' (Chapter 1, A1) and Harrison's 'Y' (Chapter 8, Q1) appear
coincidentally at the beginning of sections and chapters. Other initials are
buried within sections (E2, H1v, K4, N4, P1v). The ornaments in the
preliminaries and text of Seven Deadly Sinnes STC6522
(1606)
present a confusing situation which can only be resolved by identification
of the contextual fonts. Allde's imprint and ornaments appear in the title
(McKerrow 207; see STC description of four states of the
title),
the dedication (McKerrow/Allde ornament 15 and an 'I' in
1A3), then
two of Stafford's pieces (McKerrow 295b, Lavin/Danter initial I2) head the
Induction 2A1-4r which is printed in Stafford-EFb; the
short letter
"Reader" in an unsigned, apparently extra, leaf begins with an unidentified
factotum (similar to Woodfield/Field Fac. 1), is printed in Allde-S2, and
concludes overside with an identified Allde piece (McKerrow/Allde 4).
Examination of the papers reveals that Stafford's
preliminary gathering was mistakenly bound in between
1A3-4 of
Allde's preliminaries. The text (
2B1-O4) in black letter
begins with an
unidentified headpiece and Lavin/Danter I2 followed by a factotum similar
to Woodfield/Wolfe Fac. 3 on C2v. The appearance of an identified piece
in each of this sequence of sections would seem to suggest that Stafford
then continued with the entire text. However, a special problem (see later
discussion, note 41) arises in distinguishing the shared sections in the
remainder of the book since it prints in black letter with pica roman as the
emphasis typeface.
In unshared long books, external identification of ornamental stock
is frequently unnecessary since some pieces recur throughout the book.
However, a change in the manner of heading chapters and the appearance
of new ornamental stock could be misinterpreted. Bearing Jaggard's
imprint, Badges STC889 is continuously signed B-2G; each
of
the four textual units (Books 1-3 and "A Corollary") contains numerous
chapters, each headed by an initial. A mixed setting style is established in
Book 1 comprised of factotum 1 (C1, E1, F5, F8v, K2), and initial T1 (E4,
F3v, F7, G6v, H5v, H7, I4v), with the remaining chapters headed by
unornamented, large (7mm) roman capitals. The appearance of previously
unseen initial A1 at N4 in Book 2; the shift to setting large roman initials
almost exclusively in 20 chapters of Book 3 except for the previously
unseen I1 at Q2 and a problematic initial T2 on 2C2v which seems identical
to T1 except that single rather than double rules enclose it, making
it seem a different initial (it actually is); and factotum 2 in Book 4 (2E1)
should cause no difficulty because of the recurrence of previously seen
ornamental stock and the mixed setting style. Ornament 1 begins both Book
1 and 2, T1 continues in Book 2 (O7, O8), and factotum 1 appears twice
in Book 3 (Q2, R5v). Book 4 raises the possibility of sharing with its new
factotum 2 and different printing style, but that can easily be attributed to
the change in the kind of text. Moreover, the font which prints the whole
book is easily recognized as Jaggard-Y1b.
In some long quartos, sharing may be hinted at by an apparent shift
in ornamental stock, although a common problem is that usually too few
pieces appear to permit such an insight. Hence, the erratic appearance of
ornamental stock somewhat lessens its usefulness as a means of detecting
shared printing since pieces may be scattered about in a book without much
of a recognizable pattern or with just a few appearances across several
gatherings. Furthermore, the intermittent appearance of ornamental stock
at likely boundaries between shared sections can create the impression of
a sharing pattern less complex than that which actually occurs in a book.
Eld's stock and Eld-Y2 appear in Book 1 of An Apology
STC19295, followed by Jaggard's stock and fonts in the first half of Book
2. However, a shift to a third alphabet reintroduces Eld-Y2 up to and after
3H-L, where Jaggard's fonts appear.
Even when a pattern of recurrence or the appearance of identified
pieces is encountered in a shared book, it may not provide a basis for
precise differentiation of sections, especially if the two printers print in
alternate groups
of gatherings instead of in a simple division into long self-contained
sections.
De Missa STC23456 (1603) illustrates these
difficulties. Bearing Adam Islip's imprint, the text of Books 1-3 is
continuously signed B-2T3 but a repeated alphabet is prematurely
introduced at [2T5] with the beginning of Book 4. The simultaneous shift
from easily distinguished Islip-EFb, which uses Guyot capitals exclusively,
to a Y-font suggests, at first glance, a simple division by books. However,
the distribution of fonts in Book 4 reveals the actual sharing pattern: the
Y-font prints
2A-L,
2P-R,
2T, and
2X; Islip-EFb prints
2M-O,
2S, and
2V. It
is illuminating to consider the
ornamental evidence against this background. The ornamental stock in
Books 1-3 is extensive, including two identified head-pieces and one
identified factotum in six appearances, nineteen initials in forty-seven
appearances, and three factotums in single appearances. Together with the
shift in
signature-alphabets, a group of twelve new pieces in
2A-L
easily points
to a sharing division marked by six recurrent pieces (repeated alphabet
assumed in the following): factotum 1 recurs at K2, L7v; 'S' at A1, E1;
'A' at A4v, C5, D4v, G2; 'I' at B1v, H1, K4; 'Q' at C1, D6v, I7v; and
'P1' at C5v, I1v, and R5. In addition, six other initials occur once: 'V' at
A8v; 'D' at B5v; 'C' at B3; 'R' at E5v; 'F' at H4; and 'B' at L2v.
However, the ornamental evidence is clear only about the
2A-L section
of Book 4. Relatively few initials occur after
2A-L,
leaving little to go
on as to the precise division of sharing. The recurrence of 'P1' at
2R5
(previously seen at
2C5v and
2I1v) links
2R to the sharing
printer of
2A-L; otherwise three additional initials appear
in his later
sections: the 'T' at
2P6; 'E' at
2T8; and
'V' at
2X1. The latter
could possibly be confusing since another 'V' appears at
2A8v; it might
suggest a third printer rather than one who
possesses and uses two different 'V' in the same text. The recurrences of
five initials from Books 1-3 permit the assignment of three gatherings of
Book 4 to Islip and clearly indicate that the division of labor was not a
simple "by books" job; rather, Islip alternated with the sharing printer in
Book 4.
[13] Overall, internal
ornamental evidence clarifies the divisions of labor for most of the book
with B-2T,
2N,
2O, and
2S assigned to Islip, and
2A-L
and
2R to the sharing printer. "Gross features" font
analysis is adequate
for settling the assignment of the remaining six gatherings
(
2M, V to
Islip;
2PQ, T, X, to the sharing printer) and confirming
the rest.
In general, the appearance of previously identified ornamental stock
in alternating gatherings of a shared section such as Book 4 of De
Missa STC 23456 provides a short-cut to the assignment of some
gatherings. All five recurrent initials noted above belong to Islip, so that a
charting of initials through Books 1-3 to establish a recurrence pattern is
unnecessary in this instance. However, this is possible only if a previous
survey of a printer's work has established that such initials are part of his
stock. A rather quick survey of long books (especially folios if available)
in the proximate period by
the printer given in the imprint of a shared book will usually locate at least
a few pieces which can tentatively establish his sections in the latter.
However, in Islip's case, this approach is thwarted by an anomaly in the
output from his shop (see later discussion).
Long folios generally contain many pieces so that an internal
grouping of ornamental stock exclusive of external identifications frequently
can provide an initial clue to the alternation between two printers and
sometimes the actual boundaries of sections, provided that the sections are
long enough for the recurrence of one or more pieces, or of several initials
that belong to a particular alphabet. The latter situation merely hints at
ownership by one printer, but is a valuable initial clue to the identity of
some printers. For example, an initial from Islip's Blayney/Alphabets 4 and
5 rarely (if ever) appears alone in books which use several initials.
Similarly, the Robinson/Braddock stock included at least eight (A B F H I
O T S) large (41mm) initials enclosed by two outer rules separated from an
inner frame by ringlets (see Plomer T158, F161, H163; Purfoot also used
a similar 'T'; see Romish Spider STC5963.5, B1). A second
Robinson/Braddock alphabet is characterized by
human subject-matter on a filled black background. An appearance of a few
initials from these recognizable alphabets calls for a check of the contextual
font(s). Moreover, the shift in a long book to previously unseen stock calls
for a comparison of the fonts at the previous border between gatherings.
Adam Islip and George Eld are identified in the imprint (an extremely rare
gratuitous clue) of A General Historie STC12374 (1608) so
that
the identification of their respective sections should be nothing more than
a "mop-up" operation. The new STC assigns to Eld sections
O-2D, 3A-3P, 4I-5F, and 5X-6C, with the rest to Islip. The error in the
assignment of the first section is puzzling and illustrates the need for
consideration of the pattern of ornament appearance as well as font shifts.
Islip's ornaments and initials from his Alphabets 4 and 5 appear up to K5.
A different set of five initials appears between L1-N. Then Eld's Mermaid
head-piece (30mm x 150mm) and a large
'I' (48mm x 45mm) appear on O1. As far as I know, the Horseman-L at
L1 and the "Honi Soit"-A at L3v do not appear previously in an Eld book,
but the three others do, including the Monkey-D at L5, the Demon-W at
M5v, and Scholar-T at N4v. Nonetheless, two recur in later sections
assigned to Eld: the "Honi Soit"-A appears later in the first section at V2,
in the second section at 3M6 along with the Scholar-T at 3I7, and in the
third section at 4X5. These appearances overlap with 15 other of Eld's
initials in the correctly assigned sections,[14] a fact that should be easily noted
and
interpreted as evidence of Eld's work in L-O. Moreover, a shift in fonts
occurs at L1 along with the introduction of the new set of initials; why this
was overlooked is puzzling, given the fact that other boundaries were
detected in the absence of ornamental stock. The shift to Islip's font at 2E1
occurs fairly close to the
appearance of his Mermaid head-piece (34mm x 126mm) and initials P5 at
2E4 and K5 at 2E5v. However, font shifts without ornamental stock occur
at 3Q1 [3M6], 5X1, and 6C1 [5P2] at some distance from the previous
appearance of ornamental stock (in brackets). In short, it is not necessary
to know a printer's entire ornamental stock in many instances if proper
attention is given to the pattern of appearances and contextual fonts.
