Richard Hawkins (publisher)
Encyclopedia
Richard Hawkins was a London
publisher of the Jacobean
and Caroline
eras. He was a member of the syndicate that published the Second Folio
collection of Shakespeare's
plays in 1632
. His bookshop was in Chancery Lane
, near Sergeant's Inn.
Edmond Matts in 1604–11; in turn he acquired Matts's business in 1613 and established himself as an independent publisher. In his first year, Hawkins reprinted John Marston
's The Metamorphosis of Pigmalion's Image, a work originally issued by Matts in 1598
. Hawkins's initial entry into the Stationers' Register
was Elizabeth Tanfield Cary
's The Tragedy of Mariam
, which he also printed in 1613
— a work now recognized as the first tragedy by a woman to be published in English.
; an entry in the Stationers' Register, dated March 1 of that year, records the transfer of the rights to Othello
from Thomas Walkley
, the publisher of the play's first quarto (1622
), to Hawkins. (The same transfer included the rights to the Beaumont and Fletcher
plays Philaster
and A King and No King
.) Hawkins then published the second quarto of Othello (printed by Augustine Matthews
) in 1630
. Hawkins's text combined elements from the two previous texts, the 1622 first quarto and the First Folio
of 1623
, which showed significant differences. Hawkins's possession of the copyright to one Shakespearean play enabled him to become one of the subsidiary members of Robert Allot
's syndicate (the others were William Aspley
, Richard Meighen
, and John Smethwick
) when Allot published the Second Folio.
A fourth quarto of Philaster was published, under Hawkins's imprint, posthumously in 1634
.
Like some other publishers of his time, Hawkins sometimes wrote prefaces for the playbooks he issued. In his preface to Philaster, Hawkins compares the plays of English Renaissance drama
to gold, and publishers to "merchant adventurers." Hawkins was one of the small minority who wrote prefatory material in verse, as in his editions of A King and No King and The Maid's Tragedy.
Hawkins published a range of contemporary literature in his generation, including a 1629
edition of Hero and Leander
(Marlowe's
poem with Chapman's
continuation), and the 1619 and 1622 editions of the Nosce Teipsum of the poet John Davies of Hereford
. He ventured into music publishing, with a 1631 edition of the canzonets
of Thomas Morley
. One of Hawkins's final projects was the first English edition of Mathematical Recreations (1633), by Jean Leurechon (alias "Henry van Etten") — translated by Francis Malthus, and printed by Thomas Cotes
, the same man who printed the Second Folio.
Hawkins's widow, Ursula Hawkins, disposed of some of his copyrights after his death.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
publisher of the Jacobean
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
and Caroline
Caroline era
The Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period that coincided with the reign of Charles I , Carolus being Latin for Charles...
eras. He was a member of the syndicate that published the Second Folio
Second Folio
Second Folio is the term applied to the 1632 edition of the works of William Shakespeare, following upon the First Folio of 1623.Much language was updated; there are almost 1,700 changes from the First Folio....
collection of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays in 1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
. His bookshop was in Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane is the street which has been the western boundary of the City of London since 1994 having previously been divided between Westminster and Camden...
, near Sergeant's Inn.
Beginnings
Hawkins served his apprenticeship under the stationerWorshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
Edmond Matts in 1604–11; in turn he acquired Matts's business in 1613 and established himself as an independent publisher. In his first year, Hawkins reprinted John Marston
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
's The Metamorphosis of Pigmalion's Image, a work originally issued by Matts in 1598
1598 in literature
-Events:*September 22 - Ben Jonson is charged with manslaughter, after killing actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel.*October - Edmund Spenser's castle at Kilcolman, near Doneraile in North Cork, is burned down by the native Irish forces of Aodh Ó Néill...
. Hawkins's initial entry into the Stationers' Register
Stationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
was Elizabeth Tanfield Cary
Elizabeth Tanfield Cary
Elizabeth Cary, Lady Falkland , née Tanfield, was an English poet, translator, and dramatist. Precocious and studious, she was known from a young age for her learning and knowledge of languages.-Life:...
's The Tragedy of Mariam
The Tragedy of Mariam
The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry is a Jacobean era closet drama written by Elizabeth Tanfield Cary, and first published in 1613. The play is the first work by a woman that was published under her own name. The play received only marginal attention until the 1970's, when feminist...
, which he also printed in 1613
1613 in literature
The year 1613 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*English poet Francis Quarles becomes cupbearer to Princess Elizabeth....
— a work now recognized as the first tragedy by a woman to be published in English.
Shakespeare
Hawkins's connection with the Shakespeare canon started in 16281628 in literature
The year 1628 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Ben Jonson is appointed city chronologer of London.*Ten-year-old Abraham Cowley produces his Tragicall History of Piramus and Thisbe....
; an entry in the Stationers' Register, dated March 1 of that year, records the transfer of the rights to Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
from Thomas Walkley
Thomas Walkley
Thomas Walkley was a London publisher and bookseller in the early and middle seventeenth century. He is noted for publishing a range of significant texts in English Renaissance drama, "and much other interesting literature."-Career:...
, the publisher of the play's first quarto (1622
1622 in literature
The year 1622 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 28 - Loiola, a Latin comedy mocking the Jesuits, is acted at Cambridge; the performance is repeated before King James I on March 12.*March 12 - Teresa of Ávila The year 1622 in literature involved some significant...
), to Hawkins. (The same transfer included the rights to the Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
plays Philaster
Philaster (play)
Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding is an early Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. One of the duo's earliest successes, the play helped to establish the trend for tragicomedy that was a powerful influence in early Stuart era drama.-Date and...
and A King and No King
A King and No King
A King and No King is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619. It has traditionally been among the most highly-praised and popular works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators.The play's title became almost...
.) Hawkins then published the second quarto of Othello (printed by Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews was a printer in London in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in English Renaissance drama....
) in 1630
1630 in literature
The year 1630 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* English literature, drama, and education lose a major patron and benefactor when William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Chamberlain of England, dies on April 10.-New books:...
. Hawkins's text combined elements from the two previous texts, the 1622 first quarto and the First Folio
First Folio
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
of 1623
1623 in literature
The year 1623 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 2 - The King's Men perform Twelfth Night at Court on Candlemas....
, which showed significant differences. Hawkins's possession of the copyright to one Shakespearean play enabled him to become one of the subsidiary members of Robert Allot
Robert Allot
Robert Allot was a London bookseller and publisher of the early Caroline era; his shop was at the sign of the black bear in St. Paul's Churchyard...
's syndicate (the others were William Aspley
William Aspley
William Aspley was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. He was a member of the publishing syndicates that issued the First Folio and Second Folio collections of Shakespeare's plays, in 1623 and 1632.-Career:...
, Richard Meighen
Richard Meighen
Richard Meighen was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He is noted for his publications of plays of English Renaissance drama; he published the second Ben Jonson folio of 1640/1, and was a member of the syndicate that issued the Second Folio of Shakespeare's collected plays in...
, and John Smethwick
John Smethwick
John Smethwick was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. Along with colleague William Aspley, Smethwick was one of the "junior partners" in the publishing syndicate that issued the First Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays in 1623. As his title pages specify, his...
) when Allot published the Second Folio.
Others
Beyond the confines of the Shakespeare canon, Hawkins a published number of other play texts. They included:- the first quartoBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
of Cary's The Tragedy of Mariam (1613), printed by Thomas CreedeThomas CreedeThomas Creede was a printer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, rated as "one of the best of his time." Based in London, he conducted his business under the sign of the Catherine Wheel in Thames Street from 1593 to 1600, and under the sign of the Eagle and Child in the Old Exchange from 1600 to...
; - the third quarto of Philaster (1628);
- the third quarto of Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's TragedyThe Maid's TragedyThe Maid's Tragedy is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619.The play was one of the earliest works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators that was acted by the King's Men; Fletcher would spend most of his career as that company's regular playwright...
(1630); - the third quarto of A King and No King (1631).
A fourth quarto of Philaster was published, under Hawkins's imprint, posthumously in 1634
1634 in literature
The year 1634 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The King's Men perform Cymbeline at the court of King Charles I of England.*January 22 - The King's Men perform Davenant's The Wits at the Blackfriars Theatre....
.
Like some other publishers of his time, Hawkins sometimes wrote prefaces for the playbooks he issued. In his preface to Philaster, Hawkins compares the plays of English Renaissance drama
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
to gold, and publishers to "merchant adventurers." Hawkins was one of the small minority who wrote prefatory material in verse, as in his editions of A King and No King and The Maid's Tragedy.
Hawkins published a range of contemporary literature in his generation, including a 1629
1629 in literature
The year 1629 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*April 6 - Tommaso Campanella is released from custody in Rome, and gains the confidence of Pope Urban IV....
edition of Hero and Leander
Hero and Leander (poem)
Hero and Leander is a mythological poem by Christopher Marlowe. After Marlowe's death it was completed by George Chapman. Henry Petowe published an alternate completion to the poem.-Publication:...
(Marlowe's
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
poem with Chapman's
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
continuation), and the 1619 and 1622 editions of the Nosce Teipsum of the poet John Davies of Hereford
John Davies of Hereford
John Davies of Hereford was a writing-master and an Anglo-Welsh poet. He is usually known as John Davies of Hereford in order to distinguish him from others of the same name....
. He ventured into music publishing, with a 1631 edition of the canzonets
Canzonetta
In music, a canzonetta was a popular Italian secular vocal composition which originated around 1560...
of Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. He was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England and an organist at St Paul's Cathedral...
. One of Hawkins's final projects was the first English edition of Mathematical Recreations (1633), by Jean Leurechon (alias "Henry van Etten") — translated by Francis Malthus, and printed by Thomas Cotes
Thomas Cotes
Thomas Cotes was a London printer of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, best remembered for printing the Second Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays in 1632.-Life and work:...
, the same man who printed the Second Folio.
Hawkins's widow, Ursula Hawkins, disposed of some of his copyrights after his death.