WYER, Robert ‹ LBT 02899 ›
floruit 1529 (A)—1529 (A); Male, married
Family Relationships
| Relationship | Name | Occupation | Comments | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spouse: | WYER, Jane ( - 1559) ‹ LBT 06422 › | 95 |
Livery Companies
| Company | Source |
|---|---|
| Salters' Company |
Occupations (2)
| Occupation | Comment |
|---|---|
| Bookseller | |
| Printer | Duff, E.G. (1905) |
Addresses (1)
| Date | Address | Trade at Addr | Source | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1529, (1529-30) | Charing Cross | Duff, E.G. (1905) | - sign of St John the Evangelist |
SOURCES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Transcriptions
Bib.Soc., Hand-lists (1913), contrib. H.R.Plomer.
S.T.C., (1991), vol.3, pp.191-2
Duff, E.G. (1905), pp.175-6
WYER (ROBERT), printer in London, is supposed by some to have been an assistant to John Butler { BUTLER, John ‹ LBT 28367 › }, but for this there is no direct evidence, and it is rendered improbable by the fact that when Wyer commenced to print, about 1529-30, at Charing Cross he was of sufficient importance in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields to be a churchwarden. His shop was at the sign of St. John the Evangelist in the Bishop of Norwich's Rents which were known after the sale in 1536 as the Duke of Suffolk's Rents. This change of name is very valuable as dating many of Wyer's books before or after 1536.
Wyer printed a very large number of small popular books, though he also issued a few important works such as the Defence of Peace printed for W. Marshall. Wyer's wife Jane or Joan { WYER, Jane ( - 1559) ‹ LBT 06422 › } died in 1559 and the last notice of Robert Wyer is found between 1559 and 1561 in the registers of the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields where very numerous entries of the Wyer family occur. He was succeeded at the sign of St. John the Evangelist by Thomas Colwell { COLWELL, Thomas ( - 1578) ‹ LBT 08273 › } in 1560.
Wyer's device was a representation of St. John seated, writing, on the island of Patmos while at his side an eagle holds his inkhorn. Of this device he had several varieties. [Plomer, English Printing, pp. 57-60. The Library, 1891, pp. 6-11. Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Martin-in-heFields. D.N.B.]