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The Editions of Robert Greene's A Quip for
an Upstart
Courtier (1592)
by
Edwin Haviland
Miller
After R. B. McKerrow, in 1906, published the results of his examination of Robert Greene's quarto, A Quip for an Upstart Courtier (1592), it was generally accepted that only two editions of the tract appeared in the year of publication: one (collating A-H4) with the attack on the Harveys, an 'issue' with the cancel of this passage, and other copies in which the collation reads A-F4.[1] An examination of all extant copies of the 1592 edition, however, reveals that at least six editions appeared in that year. Copies in the Westminster Abbey Library, the Harvard University Library, the Huntington Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the collection of Dr. A. S. Rosenbach were found to be separate editions. Thus Greene's intemperate criticism of Gabriel Harvey and his two brothers, John and Richard, not only precipitated the vitriolic Harvey-Nashe controversy, which continued for at least the next four years, but also created a great demand for the Quip, which the printer had to meet by rushing editions through the presses.
Since, beginning with the second edition, the collation remains the same, and all copies are paginary reprints, occasionally with the transfer of formes from one edition to another, the tract presents difficult bibliographical problems, especially as to order of printing. However, through scrutiny of variant readings and through a line-by-line examination of type it is possible, I believe, to establish a plausible order.
The collations of the editions of the Quip examined are as follows:
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Q1a A | QVIP FOR AN VP-|ſtart Courtier: | Or, | A quaint diſpute betvveen Veluet breeches | and Cloth-breeches. | Wherein is plainely ſet downe the diſorders | in all Eſtates and Trades. | [woodcut: a courtier and a country gentleman in a rural setting (6.9 x 7.7 cm.)] | LONDON | Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe, and are to bee ſold at his | ſhop at Poules chayne. 1592.
Collation: 4°: A-H4
HT (sig. B1)] [orn.: head-piece with animals and satyrs, entwined in vines (1.6 x 7 cm.)] | A quip for an vpſtart | Courtier.
Contents: A1: Blank. A2: Title (verso blank). A3: Dedication: [orn.: triple row (6) of type-orn. (2.4 x 7.6 cm.)] | a 'To the Right VVoorſhipfull | Thomas Barnabie Eſquire, Robert | Greene wiſheth hartes eaſe, and | heauens bliſſe.' (22 ll., ital.). A3v: Completion of 'The Epiſtle Dedicatorie.' (11 ll., ital.). Signed 'Robert Greene.' | [orn.: lozenge-shaped, with leaves and vines (5.6 x 5.6 cm.)]. A4: [orn.: double A head-piece (1.8 x 7.7 cm.)] | 'To the Gentlemen Rea-|ders health." stet al in rom. (23 ll., rom.). A4v: Completion of 'To the Reader.' (13 ll., rom.), followed by [orn.: square, with Tudor rose (6.2 x 6.4 cm.)]. B1: HT with text: B. L. with quotations in ital. and sidenotes in rom. H3: 'FINIS.' | [orn.: double row (4) of type-orn. (1.7 x 5 cm.)]. H4r-v: Blank.
RT] A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. B1v-H3 (excepting: quippe [with reversed first p] C-E1v, G2v, BF3v.)
CW] A3 that B3 an C3 (mai-)stership D3 for E3 doth E3v (Sa-)turne E4 (Gen-)tlewoman, F3 ouer-(glased) G3 pence
Note: On sig. D2 the last line ends 'beseem a pan-', and the first line of the next page begins 'of long profession'. The CW is 'dor of'.
Sig.: $2 F, H; $3 B, D; $4 A, C, E, G; b. l. caps with arabic numerals, except A3 in ital. caps. E3,4 37 ll.
Copy used: Huntington Library (STC 12300).
- Q1b [Same as Q1a with these exceptions:] CW] E3 come E3v Deuill E4 should Sig.: E3, E4, b. l. caps with rom. numerals. Note: E3r-v 33 ll. E4 34 ll. E4v 35 ll. Copy used: Bodleian Library.
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Q2 A | QVIP FOR AN VP-|ſtart Courtier: | Or, | A quaint diſpute betvveen Veluet breeches | and Cloth-breeches. | Wherein is plainely ſet downe the diſorders | in all Eſtates and Trades. | [woodcut: same as in Q1a] | LONDON | Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe, and are to bee ſold at his | ſhop at Poules chayne. 1592.
Collation: 4°: A-F4
109HT (sig. A3)] A quip for an vpſtart Courtier, stet comma instead of period.
Contents: A1: Title (verso blank). A2: Dedication: 'To the Right Worſhipful Thomas Burnabie Eſquier | Robert Greene wiſheth hartes eaſe, and | heauens bliſſe.' (26 ll., ital.). Signed 'Robert Greene.' A2v: 'To the Gentlemen Readers health.' (28 ll., rom.). A3: HT with text: B. L. with quotations in ital. F4: 'FINIS.'
RT] A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. A3v-F4 (excepting: A quippe for | for an vpſtart Courtier. CEF2v, BD3v).
CW] [Catch-words of Q2-Q6 given later in special list.]
Sig.: [Not cited because of cropping.]
Notes: BD3v, E4 39 ll. D1, E3 38½ ll. D2v, D3 37 ll.
Copy used: Westminster Abbey Library.
- Q3 [Same as Q2 with these exceptions:] HT (sig. A3)] A quip for an vpſtart Courtier. RT] A Quip for an | vpſtart Courtier stet no period A3v-A4 A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. A4v-F4 (excepting: A quippe for | for an vpſtart Courtier. B1v, EF2v, CD3v; A quippe | an vpſtart Courtier. B4v, D2v). Sig.: $2 F; $3 A, C, D; $4 B, E; b. l. caps with arabic numerals. Notes: [Same as Q2, excepting:] B4 37 ll. E4v 39 ll. Standing type of sheets E and F of Q2 used. Copy used: Huntington Library.
- Q4 [Same as Q2 with these exceptions:] RT] A Quip for an | vpſtart Courtier stet no period A3v-A4 A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. A4v-F4 (excepting: A quippe for | for an vpſtart Courtier. B1v). Sig.: $2 F; $3 A, C-E; $4 B. Numeral in D3 placed next to cap. Notes: B3v 39 ll. B4 ll. Standing type of sheets A and B of Q3 used. Copies used: Harvard Library (formerly the White copy, STC 12301) and British Museum (formerly the Ashley copy, P.5785.Ash.833.)[2]
- Q5 [Same as Q2 with these exceptions:] Contents: A2: 'To the Right Worſhipful Thomas Barnabie Eſquier' RT] A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. A3v-F4 (excepting: puippe C2v). Sig.: $2 F; $3 A-E. C3. instead of C3 Note: B4 39 ll. C3 37ll. Standing type of sheets C (i) and F(1v,4) of Q4 used. Copies used: Folger Shakespeare Library and British Museum (P.5785.95. b.19.)[3]
- Q6 [Same as Q2 with these exceptions:] Contents: [Same as Q5] RT] A quippe for | an vpſtart Courtier. A3v-F4 Sig.: $2 F; $3 A, C-E; $4 B. Numeral in C2 inverted. Notes: B3v 39 ll. B4 37 ll. Copy used: Collection of Dr. A. S. Rosenbach.
Because the catch-words in Q2-Q6 are important in determining the number of editions of this tract, and because the differences are often minute, for ease of identification of editions I have listed all significant changes in the table below. (When, because of cropping, I cannot cite catch-words in Q2, I have used question marks.)
Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | |
A3 | thus | thus | thus | thu[4] | thus |
B3v | ? | match | match | Italian | match |
Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | |
B4 | ? | only | only | only | onely |
C2v | ? | Suppose | Suppose | suppose, | suppose |
C3 | ? | through | through[5] | through | through |
C3v | ? | shauen | shauen | shauen | shaun |
C4 | ? | art | art, | art, | art |
D1 | hath | hath | mace | hath | hath |
D2v | questioned | questioned | brawled? | brawled? | brawled? |
D3 | worthy | worthy | commodity | commodity | commo-(dity) |
D3v | ? | Lords | counsaile | counsaile | counsaile |
D4v | they | they | that | that | that |
E1 | for | for | honest | honest | honest |
E1v | the | the | stuffe | stuff | stuffe |
E2 | ? | tha | that | that | that |
E2v | ? | trusse | of | of | of |
E3 | ? | I smild | fat | fat | fat |
E3v | ? | for | haue | haue | haue |
E4 | ? | of | are | are | are |
E4v | conuey | conuey | (con-)uey | (con-)uey | (con-)uey |
F1v | therefore | therefore | therefore | therefore | there-(fore) |
F2 | ? | Gentelwomen | Gentlewomen | Gentlewomen | Gentle-(women) |
F2v | What | What | What | What | What |
F3 | ? | (commo-)ditie | (commo-)dity | (commo-)dity | (commo-)dity |
F3v | ? | rest | rest | rest | after |
The two states of the first edition of the Quip are easily differentiated by means of the cancel of the attack on the Harveys. Thus in Q1b the last two leaves of E signature were reset,[6] and the lengthy side-note on sig. E4 of Q1a threatening Richard Harvey with ridicule in the theater eliminated. The rest of Q1b has the typesettings of Q1a. In sheet F, however, two alterations were made. On sig. F1, a seventeen-line side-note was added (because of cropping I have had to reconstruct the reading in part):
When demand for the tract necessitated a second printing, the work was reset in entirety: all ornaments and side-notes were eliminated, and the number of gatherings reduced from eight to six. Furthermore, except for the accidental omission of lines and the usual orthographical changes when a work goes through many printings, the text became standardized and is sharply differentiated from Q1a-b because of five deletions made presumably before Greene's death on September 3, 1592.[7] Since all later editions follow Q1b in removing the Harvey attack and in altering the phraseology of the allusion to the bakers, Q1b obviously became the copy-text.[8] It should also be noted that Q2-Q5 have the same title-page and the same typesetting on sig.A2v. Catch-words and signatures, as the collations above indicate, are practically the same in Q2-Q6. In view of these similarities, we may be certain that the different forms of the Quip were run off the presses within a short time.
Because these later editions are paginary reprints, it will not be possible to prove conclusively the order of printing. Nevertheless, we can, I believe, arrive at a hypothetically correct order. First, it is necessary to cite the evidence for Q2 as the second edition:
- (1) As the partial list of variant readings given below
reveals, Q2, more frequently than any of the other editions,
retains the phraseology of Q1b. (The first citations are
from Q1b-Q2, and the line references are from Q2; the latter
readings are from Q3-Q6.)
- A3 l. 4 cleere: cheere 9 me: men
- B1v 33 courtiers: country
- B3 26 seing that: seeing
- B3v 1 take: takes 32 or other suts: in other sutes
- B4 24 of hart: of the hart
- B4v 21 wars: warre
- D4 2 hides or backes: backs or hides 28 a little heere: heere a little 32 espied: spied
113 - (2) On sig. A4, l. 11, of Q2, we find the reading: "the the Deuill". This is an easily understood error if we turn to sig. B2 of Q1b, where the catch-word is "the" and the first two words of the next page "the Deuill". The printer probably set up "the" in Q2, turned to the next page in Q1b, and composed "the Deuill". (Although Q1a-b have identical type-settings here, it seems more logical that Q1b was being followed, since, as I have previously noted, Q2 adopts all the emendations of the second issue of the first edition.)
On the basis of this evidence, although it cannot be considered conclusive, Q2 appears to be the second edition of the pamphlet.[9]
To determine the order of the other printings, our best guide is the use of standing type in the various editions. The chart below shows graphically how typesettings were transferred from one edition to another, beginning with Q3. (I have not noted in this chart that sigs. A1 and A2v are identical in Q2-Q5.)
That Q3 is a later edition than Q2 is proven by the fact that in Q3 the
Then, when the popularity of the tract necessitated a fourth printing, Wolfe found that the standing type of sheets A and B from Q3 was still intact and could be used in Q4. However, because type had been disturbed, sig. B1 in entirety, the running-titles of sigs. B2v and B4v, and the catchword of sig. B4v had to be reset. Although the changes made during the resetting of sig. B1 do not necessarily indicate that Q4 is later than Q3,[12] the number of variant readings introduced in this printing points to this conclusion. Another argument for the correctness of the order of printing outlined here is the appearance of the broken h in "shall" on sig. C2, l. 29, of Q5, the inner forme of this signature being the same in Q4 and Q5.
Q4 and Q5 are even more closely related than the chart above indicates. In sheet A, not only are sigs. A1 and A2v identical settings, but also the same typesetting appears on sig. A2, with the exception of these corrections (the readings from Q4 appear first): l. 1 Burnabie: Barnabie l. 8 theit: their. The second correction indicates the priority of Q4. And, as
Q6 is easily distinguished from the editions we have examined, for on the title-page the setting of "A | QVIP FOR AN VP-| ſtart Courtier:" is different in this printing,[14] and sig. A2v, identical in Q2-Q5, has been reset. In addition, the initial I on sig. A3 has a noticeable break in the upper left-hand corner, not apparent in Q2-Q5. Q6 is also characterized by attempts at perfection of the text in regard to orthography ("ancient" for "antient," for example), consistent capitalization of proper names, new paragraph divisions and proper indentation of the paragraph beginning on l. 16 of sig. B4 (previously not indented), and more logical punctuation throughout the tract. Since catch-words and line-endings are usually the same in Q4-Q6, it is not possible to ascertain whether Q6 follows Q4 or Q5. The line irregularities noted in the collation point to Q4, but, on the basis of the variant readings, Q5 seems the more logical candidate, as in at least twenty-four instances Q6 retains readings which appear first in Q5.
Further proof that the order of printing outlined here is substantially correct is furnished by the transfer of running-titles from edition to edition. If we look at the collations, we see that "A quippe for | for an vpſtart Courtier." appears five times in Q2 and Q3, once in Q4, and not at all in Q5 and Q6. We also find that erroneous running-titles are gradually eliminated, until in Q6 there is complete uniformity.
Thus, on the basis of the transfer of formes and running-titles, the introduction of variant readings, and attempts at perfection, particularly in Q6, the printing history of the Quip in 1592 appears to be clear. Moreover, after careful examination of all extant copies of the tract printed in this year, we have definite evidence that at least six editions, rather than two as heretofore supposed, appeared in 1592. Finally, this bibliographical analysis of the pamphlet demonstrates that it caused no small sensation
Notes
See "Early Editions of Greene's 'Quip for an Upstart Courtier' (1592)," The Gentleman's Magazine, CCC (1906), 68-71. In Robert Greene et ses romans (Paris, 1938), pp. 474-475, n., René Pruvost discusses the editions of this tract. Because of his ambiguous terminology, it is difficult to ascertain whether he believes that there were three or four editions in 1592. Although he notes that S.T.C. entry 12301a, collating A1-F3, supposedly in the Huntington Library, is erroneous, later he appears to accept this non-existent copy as a separate printing. Thus he identifies the editions called here Q1a-b, Q4 (the White copy, now in the Harvard Library), and Q5 (the copy in the British Museum, which is a later state of this printing, as I indicate below.)
The Ashley copy differs from the Harvard copy in the following respects (the readings from the Harvard copy appear first:
- A3v, l. 38, gaue: geue
- B2, l. 38, than: then
- B3v, l. 37, tye: tie
- C2, CW (fa-) thers: (fa-)there
- C3, CW, though: through
- F3 [unsigned]: [signed]
The BM copy has a number of stop-press corrections (the readings from the Folger copy appear first):
- A3, l. 11 wanean: wantan Almongst: A mongst CW thu:thus
- A4v 18 heerein: herein 25 io: to 26 thareby . . . that: thereby . . . t at 27 bralwing: brawling
- B2v 8 presse: pressd 20 outlandish . . . me: vplandish . . . mee 31 when you: whenyou
- B3 26 faest: facst
Although the Harvey passage consists of twenty-two lines in Q1a, the second issue of this edition lacks only thirteen lines, because the printer spaced out words, eliminated contracted forms, and added words and phrases. See footnote 8.
See my "Deletions in Robert Greene's A Quip for an Upstart Courtier (1592)," The Huntington Library Quarterly, XV (1952), 277-282.
The following emendations which appear in Q1b are retained in all subsequent printings (the readings from Q1a appear first, and signature and line references pertain only to that edition):
- E3, l. 33 of: vpō
- E3v 14 may see: may apparantly see 15 Pillorie: Pillory, (in the sight of a great many good and sufficiente witnesses,) 21 a cudgell: a good crab-tree cudgell
- E4 25 questioned them their: questioned with them of their seuerall 27 the third: and the third
- E4v 2 the statutes: the aunciente lawes and Statutes
- F4v 32 as: [omitted] 37 weight, you: weight by many ounces, you
Another error in Q2 is comprehensible only if this edition preceded Q3 and Q4. On sig. F4, l. 3, a new paragraph begins illogically in the middle of a sentence with "Whome". In Q1b there is no paragraph at this point, but in Q3 and in all later editions a paragraph begins with the words "Worshipfull sir" in the preceding line. The compositor of Q2 probably misinterpreted the author's (or printer's) paragraph symbol in the margin of Q1b.
Representative examples of the corrections made in Q3 are cited below (the readings from Q2 appear first):
- E1v, l. 7 rhem: them 12 will: well
- E2 22 pradon: pardon
- E2v 25 willl: will
- F1v 15 mau: man
- F2v 10 a is: is a
In Q2 the last line of sig. E4 and the first line of the next page read:
In the resetting of sig. B1 of Q4, the following changes appear (the readings from Q3 appear first):
- B1 l. 19 Fense schoole: Fence scoole 31 country: countrie 33 England Nor: England. Nor
The following line is omitted in Q4 on sig. B4 after l. 11: "preach the Gospell: the Lawier to reforme wronges and maintaine".
There are two fairly obvious alterations in the placement of the letters in the title: the A is further to the left of the O in "FOR" in Q6, and the O in "FOR" and C in "Courtier", which are directly under each other in Q2-Q5, are not aligned in the sixth edition.
In preparing this paper, I am indebted to the following for their generous cooperation: Mr. William A. Jackson, of the Houghton Library; Mr. Herman R. Mead, of the Huntington Library; Mr. H. M. Nixon, of the British Museum; and Mr. Lars Hanson, of the Bodleian Library. The late Dr. A. S. Rosenbach kindly granted me permission to examine his copy of the Quip. Dr. W. H. Bond, of the Houghton Library, made many invaluable suggestions, as did the editor of Studies in Bibliography.
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