A Dictionary of the Booksellers and Printers who Were at Work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1641 to 1667/Badger (Richard)
BADGER (RICHARD), printer in London; (?) White Swan, at the foot of Addling Hill, near Baynard's Castle, 1602–42. According to the entry in the Registers of the Company of Stationers, Richard Badger was the son of John Badger, of Stratford-upon-Avon. [Arber, ii. 261.] The parish registers of the town do not confirm this, the only entries of a Richard Badger being Richard, son to George Badger, born September 14th, 1580, and another son of the same name, born August 17th, 1585. There is no mention in the Registers of any son born to a John Badger. [Stratford-on-Avon Parish Registers, Parish Register Society, 1897.] R. Badger came to London and was apprenticed to Peter Short, a printer, on March 25th, 1602, for eight years, and took up his freedom in April, 1610. He then joined George Miller, q.v., another Stratford man, who had succeeded to the printing business of Richard Field, also a native of Stratford, and the printer of Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis and Lucrece. How long he remained with Miller is unknown, but Sir John Lambe states that about 1630 Richard Badger succeeded to the printing office formerly kept by Valentine Simmes. [Arber, iii. pp. 699–704.] Badger was admitted a master printer on June 12th, 1629, and in 1639 spoke of himself as "printer to the Prince his Highness." He was also spoken of as printer to Archbishop Laud, for whom he is said to have printed "Bibles with superstitious pictures'* [True Informer, No. 34, June 8th, 1644.] Timperley (p. 488) mentions a copy of Laud's speech at the trial of Bastwick as printed on vellum by Richard Badger. He had a good assortment of letter, and his workmanship was far above the average. Amongst his devices is found the "Anchora Spei," successively used by T. Vautrollier, R. Field, and Geoige Miller. The date of his death is unknown, but he had a son, Thomas Badger, and he was also probably related to George Badger.