BERTHELET, Thomas ( - 1555) ‹ LBT 06915 ›
floruit 1524 (A)—1555 (B); Male, married
Life Events
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Death | - on 24 Sep 1555 STC. | Duff, E.G. (1905) |
| Burial | Will - to be buried in St.Bride's, Fleet Street, in the Lady Chapel. (Plomer "Wills"). Funeral described by Henry Machyn [Diary, p.95]. (Duff). |
Will
| Will (Ref., Piece, Image) | Will Dates | Intestate | Probate Dates | Administration Dates | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PROB 11/37, More, 471/364 |
1555-09-24 | 1555-11-09 | PRO - Stationer of London. --- Plomer, H.R. (1903), pp.11-12 --- |
Executors
| Executor | Relation | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| BERTHELET, Margaret | Wife |
Family Relationships
| Relationship | Name | Occupation | Comments | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spouse: | LANGWYTH, Agnes (mar. BERTHELET) ( - 1550) ‹ LBT 03069 › | 95 | ||
| spouse: | BERTHELET, Margery (mar. PAYNE) ‹ LBT 03070 › | 95 | ||
| child: | BERTHELET, Edward ‹ LBT 34954 › | Comment for child Edward BERTHELET: O.D.N.B. - lawyer of Lincoln's Inn | 60 | |
| child: | BERTHELET, Anthony ‹ LBT 34955 › | Comment for child Anthony BERTHELET: O.D.N.B. - a minor at his father's death | 60 | |
| child: | BERTHELET, Edward ‹ LBT 36370 › | Comment for child Edward BERTHELET: O.D.N.B. - lawyer of Lincoln's Inn | 60 | |
| child: | BERTHELET, Anthony ‹ LBT 36371 › | Comment for child Anthony BERTHELET: O.D.N.B. - a minor at his father's death | 60 |
Livery Companies
| Company | Source |
|---|---|
| Stationers' Company |
Occupations (4)
| Occupation | Comment |
|---|---|
| Printer | Duff, E.G. (1905) - 'to the King' |
| Bookseller | Duff, E.G. (1905) - 'to the King' |
| Bookbinder | Duff, E.G. (1905) - 'to the King' |
| Stationer | Will |
Had Apprentice(s): (2)
| Name | Premium | Paid By | Date | Event | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUDSON, Richard ( - 1608) ‹ LBT 06916 › (fl. 1557-1608) | Bound | ||||
| WEKES, Henry ‹ LBT 06917 › (fl. 1557-1568) | Bound |
Addresses (2)
| Date | Address | Trade at Addr | Source | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1524, (1524) | St Dunstan in the West | Duff, E.G. (1905) | - Parish of | |
| 1524, (1524-46) | Fleet Street | Duff, E.G. (1905); STC. vol.3, (1991) | - Sign of Roman Lucrece, near the conduit |
Events (6)
| Date | Event type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug 1524 | Married | - to Agnes Langwyth (LBT/03069) |
| 15 Feb 1530 | King's Printer | Appointed with an annuity of four pounds (Duff). Also bookseller and bookbinder to the King. |
| 28 Jan 1547 | King's Printer | Date of Edward VI's accession on which Berthelet was deprived of this office. |
| 24 Sep 1555 | Died | |
| 15 Oct 1556 | Appr - Binding | Henry Wekes (LBT/06917) |
| 15 Oct 1556 | Appr - Binding | Richard Hudson (LBT/06916) |
Sources and References
| Original Sources | Comments |
|---|---|
| St.Co. Archive - Binding and Freedom records - extracted by Prof. J.A. Lavin |
SOURCES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Transcriptions
/ BERTHELET / BETHELOT, ODNB - article by K.F.Pantzer, rev.
Bib.Soc., Hand-lists (1913), contrib. W.W.Greg.
S.T.C., (1991), vol.3, pp.18-19
DUFF, E.G. (1905), pp.11-12
BERTHELET (THOMAS), printer in London, was probably at one time an assistant to Pynson { PYNSON, Richard ( - 1529) ‹ LBT 28537 › } and may be identified with the Thomas Bercula who printed Pynson's edition of the Vulgaria of Whitinton, issued in 1520, and one or two other books. On August 23rd, 1524, a Thomas Berthelet, of St. Dunstan in the West, probably the printer, married Agnes Langwyth { LANGWYTH, Agnes (mar. BERTHELET) ( - 1550) ‹ LBT 03069 › }, widow. [London Marriage Licenses, p.4.] In 1528 Berthelet was in business on his own account, issuing in that year Paynell's translation of the Regimen sanitatis Salerni, which was followed the next year by another work of Paynell. Berthelet's address was given as in Fleet Street, "nere to ye cundite at ye signe of Lucrece." The two books, one by Wakefield on the divorce, the other the edition of the Statutes dated by Herbert, 1529, which are quoted as before 1530, cannot be earlier than that year.
On February 15th, 1530, immediately after the death of Pynson, Berthelet was appointed printer to the King with an annuity of four pounds. His work after this was to a great extent official, though he issued many books of general interest and published all the works of Sir Thomas Elyot. On the accession of Edward VI Berthelet was deprived of his position as King's printer and Richard Grafton { GRAFTON, Richard ( - 1573) ‹ LBT 02592 › } was appointed in his place, this being the first occasion on which a royal printer had lost his office before his death. For the succeeding eight years of his life we lose the familiar "Regius impressor" of his colophons, and this often helps in dating undated books. After the loss of his privilege he became much less active and no doubt left much of the work of the printing office to his nephew, Thomas Powell { POWELL, Thomas ‹ LBT 08267 › }.
Besides being royal printer Berthelet was also bookseller and bookbinder to the King, and it would be hard to speak too highly of his taste and skill in bookbinding. It is evident that he had been much impressed with the beautiful gilt work issued by the great Italian firms, such as Aldus, and it is supposed that he brought over to England some Italian workmen, both to work for him and to teach his own men. Berthelet's bindings are almost the first gilt tooled bindings produced in England and he himself speaks of them as worked in the Venetian manner, and many of the tools used are identical with those found on contemporary Italian bindings. Fortunately, several of Berthelet's yearly accounts have been preserved and reprinted [Arber, II, 50-60], and these give full details of the books purchased and bound for the King, and the titles of the books which Berthelet himself printed and the number of copies struck off.
All bibliographers appear vague as to the date of Berthelet's death. He died on September 26th, 1555. [Inq. p. m., 2 and 3 Philip and Mary, p. 2, No. 8.] His funeral is described by Henry Machyn. [Diary, p. 95.] "The sam day at afternone was bered master Barthelett sqwyre and prynter unto King Henry; and was bered with pennon and cote-armur and iiij dozen of skochyons and ij whytt branchys and iiij gylt candyllstykes, and mony prestes and clarkes, and mony mornars, and all the craftes of prynters, boke-sellers and all stassyoners."
His will, dated 24th September, 1555, was proved on the 9th November. [Plomer, Wills, p. 11.] To his elder son, Edward, who was born on July 24th, 1553, he left his estate in Hereford and house property in London. To his younger son, Anthony, more property in London, with reversion to Thomas Powell, his sister's son. To his wife, Margaret, his own dwelling-house in Crokhorne Alley and other property. There are also legacies to god-children, apprentices, and charities. The trustees were John Abingtone and John Wekes, a goldsmith, probably the father of Henry Wekes { WEKES, Henry ‹ LBT 06917 › } the printer, who was an apprentice of Berthelet's at the time of his death. Margaret was Berthelet's second wife, whom he married in or shortly before 1550. Edward, the son, became a lawyer and was a member of Lincoln's Inn. Berthelet's property was valued at over £125 per annum. Berthelet's widow married Richard Payne, early in 1556. [Davenport, Thomas Berthelet. Plomer, English Printing, pp. 61-67. The Bibliographer, 1881-2, pp. 13-15.]