Explanation of Apprenticeship and Livery Companies

For readers unfamiliar with the history and operation of the Stationers' Company, this page outlines some of the terminology you will find on person pages in the London Book Trades wiki.

Apprentices & Masters

On a boy's 14th birthday, he was eligible to become an apprentice to a trade. A fee was usually paid to help with the cost of training and the apprentice was bound to an employer, named a master.

Masters were experienced printers who ran a printing business and employed journeymen, who were workers for hire by day or longer. To become a journeyman, an apprentice had to complete their service to their master, become free of the City of London, and attain the age of 24 (later this was reduced to 21).

Some journeymen aspired to become liverymen of the Stationers' Company so they could take a role in the conduct of the Company. Becoming a liveryman involved being cloathed (or clothed) in a ceremony.