brought his copy to the wardens and paid his fee, in order that he might be protected by an official acknowledgement of his interest in the book against any infringement by a trade competitor. No doubt the wardens would not, and under the ordinances of the company might not, give this acknowledgement, unless they were satisfied that the book was one which might lawfully be printed. But copyright was what the stationer wanted, for after all most books were not dangerous in the eyes even of an Elizabethan censorship, whereas there would be little profit in publishing, if any rival were at liberty to cut in and reprint for himself the result of a successful speculation. It is a clear proof of this that the entrances include, not only new books, but also those in which rights had been transferred from one stationer to another.[1] Obviously no new allowance by a corrector would be required in such cases. And as regards copyright and licence alike, the entry in the register, although convenient to all concerned, was in itself no more than registration, the formal putting upon record of action already taken upon responsible authority. This authority did not rest with the clerk. In a few cases, indeed, he does seem to have entered an unimportant book at his own discretion.[2] But his functions were really subordinate to those of the wardens, as is shown by his practice from about 1580, of regularly citing the 'hands' or signed directions of those officers, as well as of the correctors, upon which he was acting. These 'hands' are not in the register, and there is sufficient evidence that they were ordinarily endorsed upon the manuscript or a printed copy of the book itself.[3]*
- ↑ Various formulae are used, such as 'assigned vnto him' (ii. 310, 351), 'turned ouer to him' (ii. 369), 'putt ouer vnto him' (ii. 431), 'sold and sett ouer vnto him' (ii. 350), 'which he affyrmeth yat he bought of' (ii. 351), 'by assent of' (ii. 415), 'by thappointment of' (ii. 667), 'by the consent of' (ii. 608), 'which he bought of' (ii. 325), &c. A transfer of 'plaiebookes' from Sampson Awdeley to John Charlewood on 15 Jan. 1582 (ii. 405) included, besides two plays, Youth and Impatient Poverty, which had been formerly registered, four others, Weather, Four Ps, Love, and Hickscorner, which had been printed before the Register came into existence. I suppose that Charlwood secured copyright in these, but was there any copyright before the entry of 1582?
- ↑ ii. 377. 'Tollerated vnto him but not vnder the wardens handes', 472, 'beinge broughte to enter by John Woulf without the wardens handes to the copy'. Even in the seventeenth century ballads are sometimes entered without any citation of hands, and in 1643 it was the clerk and not the wardens whom Parliament authorized to license 'small pamphletts, portratures, pictures, and the like' (v. liv).
- ↑ ii. 365, 'Translated by a French copie whereat was the bishop of Londons hand and master Harrisons'; 440, 'by commaundement from master warden Newbery vnder his own handwrytinge on the backside of ye wrytten copie'; 443, 'vnder his hand to the printed copie'; 449, 'by
