University of Virginia Library

Additions to the Danter Canon

In his Index to the Printers, Publishers and Booksellers in the STC (1950), Morrison lists thirty-eight items known to have been printed by Danter. The nineteen additional titles which appear below were also printed in whole or in part by Danter, as is evidenced by the ornaments which they contain. This represents a 50% increase in the Danter canon, and is perhaps some indication of the enormous amount of work which remains to be done in identifying the printers of unsigned STC books. In Danter's case the general picture of him as a marginal jobbing printer is hardly altered by these additions, but similar large increases in the canons of other printers might appreciably alter our estimation of their importance.

The entries are arranged chronologically, by STC number and title within each year; the Danter ornaments which each contains are identified:

• 1591 22656 Smith, Henry. The affinities of the faithfull. Hoskins and Chettle for Ling and Busby; Folger copy reads 'Hoskins and Danter for . . .'; H1, no other ornaments.
• 1592 12245 Greene, Robert. Greenes Groats-worth of witte. [sigs. D1-F4] See Sidney Thomas, "The Printing of Greenes Groatsworth of Witte and Kind-Harts Dreame," SB, XIX (1966), 196-197. Factotum 8 only.
• [1593] 5123 Chettle, Henry. Kind harts dreame. [sigs. E1-H2] See Sidney Thomas, op. cit. Device 295(a), ornament 15, factotum 7, F1. The N on E2v and R on F3 do not occur in signed Danter books.

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• 1593 7675 A pleasant commodie of faire Em. "The printer was perhaps John Danter," Greg, Bibliography, I, 193. Copy of device 149 on title-page; no other ornaments.
• 1593 25122 Watson, T. The tears of fancie. Entered to Danter 11 August. Device 295(a), ornaments 5, 13, 14, G2.
• [1594] 10314 [Visitation articles] Peterborough. Ornaments 5, 15, factotum 8.
• 1594 12190 Grassi, Giacomo di. G. di Grassi his true arte of defence. Although this book displays Danter's factotum no. 2 on the title-page and no. 6 passim, the many other ornaments are not his. It would be natural to suppose that the two blocks had passed out of his hands in 1592 or 1593 but for the fact that factotum 6 is used in 1606 6514, 'by R. B.' but probably by Stafford.
• 1594 20867 Present remedies against the plague. Device 295(a), F1, I1.
• 1595 3388 Borgetto, G. The deuils legend. Ornaments 17, 18, factotum 3.
• 1595 14707 Johnson, Thomas, tr. Cornucopiœ, or diuers secrets. Entered to Danter 30 October 1594. Ornaments 14, 17, factotum 3.
• 1595 20366 The first booke of Primaleon of Greece [tr. A.Munday] Device 277, ornament 17, factotums 3, 8, 9.
• 1595 22885 Smythe, J. Instructions, obseruations, and orders mylitarie. 'by R. Johnes.' Danter probably printed the prelims only; ornament 17 appears on the title-page and sig. ¶, but the other ornaments are not his.
• 1595 23379 Stubbes, P. The anatomie of abuses [4th ed.] 'by R. Johnes'. Ornament 17; the only other ornament is an initial R on sig. A2, not found in any signed Danter book, but the same as appears in 1597 3631 also on sig. A2 (see below).
• 1596 1433 Barley, William. A new booke of tabliture. [Barley published this book, but there is no evidence, despite STC, that he was the author]. Ornaments 9 and 10; also contains a large headpiece not found in any signed Danter book.
• 1596 5737 Copley, Anthony. A fig for fortune. 'by R. Iohnes'. See Greg. The Library, IV, xxv (1944-5), 20: "In 1598 [sic] Richard Jones entered a copy called A fig for fortune . . . and the same year appeared an edition ostensibly printed by him (but actually by Danter at his assignment)." No evidence for this statement is given. The ornaments on the title-page, and sigs. A4 and B are Danter's (5, 11), though the ornamental initial A on A4 and the V of the same alphabet on sig B. do not appear in any signed Danter book.
• 1596 14567 Jesus psalter. Although STC queries [Douay?], Greg and Boswell, Records, p. 56, suggest that this is the edition printed surreptitiously by Danter. The common type-ornaments look like his, and the only ornament, an IHS block at the end, may be the same used by Stafford in 1600 21291 on the title-page.
• 1596 14677 Johnson, Richard. The most famous history of the seauen champions of christendome. Entered to Danter 20 April. Ornaments 5, 12, 16, A2, B1, C1, D1, I2, T3; other ornaments used in the work are not found elsewhere in Danter's books, which suggests that the printing was shared.
• 1596 18418 A booke of . . . Needleworks. Ornaments 8, unrecorded V (an old Berthelet block, used in 1540 9402)
• 1597 3631 Breton, Nicholas, The arbour of amorous deuises. 'by R. Iohnes'. Device 295(b) on title-page and sig. A2. On the evidence of its appearance in this book McKerrow suggested that the block passed to Richard Jones at an unspecified date, though expressing doubts about it (Devices, pp. 115, 169). However, the ornament was used constantly by Danter from 1592 to 1597, and almost certainly passed directly to Stafford in 1599 with a third of Danter's ornament stock. Other than 295(b) and Jones's device 283 on the title-page the book contains only an ornamental initial R (sig. A2), the same appearing in 1595 23379 (see above).