BANKES, Richard ‹ LBT 28349 ›
floruit 1523 (B)—1547 (B); Male
Occupations (3)
| Occupation | Comment |
|---|---|
| Bookbinder | |
| Bookseller | |
| Printer | Duff, E.G. (1905) |
Addresses (8)
| Date | Address | Trade at Addr | Source | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| door at the Stocks (Market) (dw) | STC. vol.3, (1991) | |||
| Gracechurch Street | STC. vol.3, (1991) | - beside the conduit (dw) | ||
| Fleet Street | STC. vol.3, (1991) | - White Hart | ||
| STC. vol.3, (1991) | - In aedibus R. Tavern | |||
| St Paul's Churchyard | STC. vol.3, (1991) | - (w/R. Lant) | ||
| 1523-08-01 | Poultry | Duff, E.G. (1905) | - at Long Shop beside St Mildred's Church | |
| 1539, (1539-40) | Fleet Street | STC. vol.3, (1991) | - Next to White Hart - Taverner's? | |
| 1545 | Old Bailey | STC. vol.3, (1991) | - (w/R. Lant) |
SOURCES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Transcriptions
Bib.Soc., Hand-lists (1913), contrib. H.R.Plomer.
Duff, E.G. (1905), pp.7-8
BANKES (RICHARD), printer in London, is first mentioned in 1523, when he issued a curious little book called The IX Drunkardes. [Bodl.] His place of business was the "long shop" in the Poultry, next to St. Mildred's Church, and six doors from the Stock's Market. Here he continued to print until 1528, issuing a few popular books, but for the next ten years he appears to have been idle, for none of his books are dated in that period. In 1539 and 1540 he began to print again, publishing several works by Richard Taverner. In some of these books he speaks of having printed them next to the sign of the White Hart, in Fleet Street, in others it is said that they are to be sold at the White Hart by Anthony Clerke { CLERKE, Anthony ‹ LBT 28246 › }. A book entitled, A compendyous olde treatyse shewynge howe that we ought to have the Scripture in Englyshe, ascribed in the British Museum catalogue to 1530, but probably later, was printed by Bankes "dwellynge in gracious strete, besyde the cundyte." Towards the end of 1540 a number of broadsides, written for and against Cromwell by Thomas Smyth and William Gray, were issued in London, and came under the notice of the Privy Council, who, on the 30th December, 1540, issued letters to Bankes, Grafton [ GRAFTON, Richard ( - 1573) ‹ LBT 02592 › }, and Gray to appear before them on the following Sunday at eight o'clock in the morning. "Richard Banks noted to be the prynter of the sayd invectives and examyned thereof, denyed the same, and layed the faulte to Robert Redman { REDMAN, Robert ( - 1540) ‹ LBT 29164 › } decessed and Richard Grafton, the which Richard Grafton confessing that he had not onely printed part of the sayd invectives, but alsoo had in his keping a certain sedicious epistle in thenglishe tongue writen by Melancton, contrary to thacte of vi articles for Christian religion, was committed to the porters warde." [Acts of the Privy Council, vol. vii, pp. 103-106.] Now four of these broadsides [Soc. of Ant.] have clear colophons stating that they were printed by Richard Bankes, and he is therefore certainly "noted to be the prynter," but his evidence appears to show that his name had been put to them falsely. John Redman { REDMAN, John (1508 - ) ‹ LBT 30081 › } printed for him about this time a broadside upon the burning of Barnes. In 1541 and 1542 he issued four books, of which three were printed by Wyer { ? WYER, Robert ‹ LBT 02899 › }, and the fourth contains Grafton's device, so that it appears that the only practical printing which he undertook after 1528 was confined to books by Taverner who, perhaps, subsidised his press. Bankes issued his last book, the Book of Cookery [Hunterian], in 1545, but the date of his death is not known. The number of books at present known published or printed by him is thirty-four. [Bibl. Soc. Handlists.] In a few he used a device consisting of his shield containing his mark and initials, surmounted by a half-length figure of St. John, and supported by a unicorn and another fabulous beast. Below the mark on the shield is a snail.