Augustine Matthews
Encyclopedia
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
.
Matthews became a freedman (a full member) of the Stationers Company
on May 9, 1615. By 1619 he was established in his own business (in Cow Lane), and for the next two decades he produced a range of literature for many of the booksellers of his generation.
In the field of drama, Matthews printed these editions of these plays:
In the standard practice in his era, Matthews the printer generally worked for booksellers functioning as publishers. Matthews printed the second quarto of Othello for stationer Richard Hawkins
; he printed the 1622 third edition of The Troublesome Reign for Thomas Dewes — a controversial text, since its title page attributed that play to Shakespeare. The 1635 fourth edition of The Scornful Lady was a rare instance in which Matthews acted as both printer and publisher.
Printers in Matthews's era were sometimes identified by name, sometimes by initials, and sometimes not at all. Bibliographers have worked to assign responsibility for specific texts to specific printers. Matthews is thought to have been one of the London printers, along with Edward Allde
and Nicholas Okes
, who produced the early quartos of Middleton's A Game at Chess
.
Matthews printed a wide range of work beyond the confines of drama. He was an important printer of the works of John Donne
, and printed some of the work of the poet George Wither
. In 1621 he printed the first edition of Lady Mary Wroth
's controversial Urania for John Marriot
and John Grismand. (The project was a rush job; the text ends in the middle of a sentence.) He also printed items in the religious literature that was so abundant in the early seventeenth century. Two examples: Matthews printed a pair of collections of Thomas Adams's sermons, The Soldier's Honour (1629) and Erienopolis, the City of Peace (1630), both for John Grismand.
As was common for printers and booksellers of his historical period, Matthews had recurring problems with the authorities. In 1629, he, Nathaniel Butter
, and two others were accused of publishing unlicensed books. At other times in his career, Matthews got into trouble for running too many presses, and for having too many apprentices.
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. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in 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...
.
Matthews became a freedman (a full member) of the Stationers Company
Worshipful 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...
on May 9, 1615. By 1619 he was established in his own business (in Cow Lane), and for the next two decades he produced a range of literature for many of the booksellers of his generation.
In the field of drama, Matthews printed these editions of these plays:
- Q2 of Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
and William RowleyWilliam RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
's A Fair QuarrelA Fair QuarrelA Fair Quarrel is a Jacobean tragicomedy, a collaboration between Thomas Middleton and William Rowley that was first published in 1617.-Performance and Publication:...
, 1622 - Q3 of The Troublesome Reign of King JohnThe Troublesome Reign of King JohnThe Troublesome Reign of King John is an Elizabethan history play, generally accepted by scholars as the source and model that William Shakespeare employed for his own King John ....
, 1622 - Q1 of John WebsterJohn WebsterJohn Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
's The Devil's Law CaseThe Devil's Law CaseThe Devil's Law Case is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Webster, and first published in 1623.-Date:The play's date of authorship and early performance history is unknown. The events upon which the play is based occurred in 1610, so that the drama must post-date that year...
, 1623 - Q1 of the anonymous Tragedy of Nero, 1624 (with printer John Norton)
- Q2 of Beaumont and FletcherBeaumont and FletcherBeaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
's The Scornful LadyThe Scornful LadyThe Scornful Lady is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, and first published in 1616, the year of Beaumont's death...
, 1625- Q4 of the same play, 1635
- Q3 of Beaumont and Fletcher's PhilasterPhilaster (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...
, 1628 - Q3 of George WilkinsGeorge WilkinsGeorge Wilkins was an English dramatist and pamphleteer best known for his probable collaboration with Shakespeare on the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre. By profession he was an inn-keeper, but he was also apparently involved in criminal activities.-Life:Wilkins was an inn-keeper in Cow-Cross,...
's The Miseries of Enforced Marriage, 1629 - Q2 of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam 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"...
's OthelloOthelloThe 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...
, 1630 - Q1 of Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
's The RenegadoThe RenegadoThe Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
, 1630 - Q1 of Sir William DavenantWilliam DavenantSir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
's The Cruel Brother, 1630 - Q1 of Thomas DrueThomas DrueThomas Drue or Drewe was an English playwright.He wrote The Life of the Duchess of Suffolk and The Bloody Banquet.Drue is the author of a historical play, ‘The Life of the Dvtches of Svffolke,’ 1631, 4to, which has been wrongly attributed by Langbaine and others to Thomas Heywood...
's The Duchess of Suffolk, 1631 - Q3 of Beaumont and Fletcher's A King and No KingA King and No KingA 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...
, 1631 - Q3 of William HaughtonWilliam HaughtonWilliam Haughton was an English playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....
's Englishmen for My MoneyEnglishmen for My MoneyEnglishmen for My Money, or A Woman Will Have Her Will is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by William Haughton that dates from the year 1598...
, 1631 - Q1 of Richard BromeRichard BromeRichard Brome was an English dramatist of the Caroline era.-Life:Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
's The Northern LassThe Northern LassThe Northern Lass is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by Richard Brome that premiered onstage in 1629 and was first printed in 1632. A popular hit with its audience, and one of his earliest successes, the play provided a foundation for Brome's career as a dramatist.-Performance and...
, 1632 - Q1 of the anonymous The Costly Whore, 1633
- Q1 of Thomas MayThomas MayThomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...
's The Heir, 1633 - Q1 of Shackerley MarmionShackerley MarmionShackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
's A Fine CompanionA Fine CompanionA Fine Companion is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion that was first printed in 1633. It is one of only three surviving plays by Marmion....
, 1633 - Q3 of John Fletcher'sJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
The Faithful ShepherdessThe Faithful ShepherdessThe Faithful Shepherdess is a Jacobean era stage play, the work that inaugurated the playwriting career of John Fletcher. Though the initial production was a failure with its audience, the printed text that followed proved significant, in that it contained Fletcher's influential definition of...
, 1634.
In the standard practice in his era, Matthews the printer generally worked for booksellers functioning as publishers. Matthews printed the second quarto of Othello for stationer Richard Hawkins
Richard Hawkins (publisher)
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...
; he printed the 1622 third edition of The Troublesome Reign for Thomas Dewes — a controversial text, since its title page attributed that play to Shakespeare. The 1635 fourth edition of The Scornful Lady was a rare instance in which Matthews acted as both printer and publisher.
Printers in Matthews's era were sometimes identified by name, sometimes by initials, and sometimes not at all. Bibliographers have worked to assign responsibility for specific texts to specific printers. Matthews is thought to have been one of the London printers, along with Edward Allde
Edward Allde
Edward Allde was an English printer in London during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. He was responsible for a number of significant texts in English Renaissance drama, including some of the early editions of plays by William Shakespeare.-Life:Edward Allde was part of a family of professional...
and Nicholas Okes
Nicholas Okes
Nicholas Okes was an English printer in London of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, remembered for printing works of English Renaissance drama...
, who produced the early quartos of Middleton's A Game at Chess
A Game at Chess
A Game at Chess is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre, notable for its political content.-The play:...
.
Matthews printed a wide range of work beyond the confines of drama. He was an important printer of the works of John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
, and printed some of the work of the poet George Wither
George Wither
George Wither was an English poet, pamphleteer, and satirist. He was a prolific writer who adopted a deliberate plainness of style; he was several times imprisoned. C. V...
. In 1621 he printed the first edition of Lady Mary Wroth
Lady Mary Wroth
Lady Mary Wroth was an English poet of the Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary English family, Wroth was among the first female British writers to have achieved an enduring reputation...
's controversial Urania for John Marriot
John and Richard Marriot
John Marriot and his son Richard Marriot were prominent London publishers and booksellers in the seventeenth century. For a portion of their careers, the 1645–57 period, they were partners in a family business....
and John Grismand. (The project was a rush job; the text ends in the middle of a sentence.) He also printed items in the religious literature that was so abundant in the early seventeenth century. Two examples: Matthews printed a pair of collections of Thomas Adams's sermons, The Soldier's Honour (1629) and Erienopolis, the City of Peace (1630), both for John Grismand.
As was common for printers and booksellers of his historical period, Matthews had recurring problems with the authorities. In 1629, he, Nathaniel Butter
Nathaniel Butter
Nathaniel Butter was a London publisher of the early 17th century. The publisher of the first edition of Shakespeare's King Lear in 1608, he has also been regarded as one of the first publishers of a newspaper in English....
, and two others were accused of publishing unlicensed books. At other times in his career, Matthews got into trouble for running too many presses, and for having too many apprentices.