Cuthbert Burby facts for kids

Cuthbert Burby (died 1607) was a London bookseller and publisher during the time of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He is famous for publishing many important plays from the English Renaissance, including works by well-known writers like William Shakespeare, Robert Greene, John Lyly, and Thomas Nashe.

Starting His Business

Cuthbert Burby was the son of Edmund Burby, a farmer from Erlsey in Bedfordshire. He began his training as a bookseller in 1584, working for William Wright for eight years. In 1592, he became a full member of the Stationers Company, which was like a guild for printers and publishers.

Burby ran his business in London from 1592 until his death in 1607. His shops were located in busy areas of London, including "under Saint Mildred's Church in the Poultry," "at the Royal Exchange," and "in Paul's Churchyard at the sign of the Swan." He had a very successful and respected business.

Early in his career, Burby published books involved in a famous argument between writers Thomas Nashe and Gabriel Harvey. Interestingly, he published works by both of them! This shows he was focused on business, not taking sides. He also published other important works by Nashe, like The Unfortunate Traveller (1594) and Lenten Stuff (1599).

Publishing Shakespeare's Plays

Burby published two very important editions of William Shakespeare's plays. These were the first printed version (called a first quarto) of Love's Labor's Lost (1598) and the second printed version (a second quarto) of Romeo and Juliet (1599).

The title page of the Romeo and Juliet second quarto said it was "Newly corrected, augmented, and amended." This means it was likely published to fix mistakes from an earlier, less accurate version (sometimes called a "bad quarto") printed in 1597. The title page for Love's Labor's Lost also said it was "Newly corrected and augmented." This makes some experts wonder if there was an even earlier, lost version of that play too. Burby's Love's Labor's Lost was also the first play text to be printed with Shakespeare's name on it.

Burby also had other connections to Shakespeare's works. He published Palladis Tamia (1598) by Francis Meres, which is important because it mentions Shakespeare and lists some of his plays up to that year. Burby also published early versions of The Taming of a Shrew (1594, 1596), which is an older play similar to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, he published Edward III (1596, 1599), a play that many believe might have some parts written by Shakespeare.

Other Plays He Published

During his career, Burby published several other plays, some with known authors and some anonymous:

• The Cobbler's Prophecy, by Robert Wilson (1594)
• George a Greene, or The Pinner of Wakefield (1599)
• A Knack to Know an Honest Man (1596)
• Mother Bombie, by John Lyly (1594, 1598)
• Orlando Furioso, by Robert Greene (1594, 1599)

Burby had a notable connection with the works of Robert Greene. Besides Orlando Furioso, he also published Greene's pamphlets The Third and Last Part of Coney-Catching and The Repentance of Robert Greene (both 1592). The play George a Greene has sometimes been thought to be written by Greene as well.

Burby often worked with printers like John Danter and Simon Stafford for many of the books he published.

Other Kinds of Books

In 1594, Burby published The Second Report of Doctor Faustus. This was a story that continued the adventures of the magician Doctor Faustus, trying to make money from the success of Marlowe's famous play Doctor Faustus. He also published Wit's Misery and the World's Madness by Thomas Lodge in 1596.

Burby published many other types of books too. He was one of three publishers who released Robert Allot's poetry collection England's Parnassus in 1600. Like most publishers of his time, he published many religious books. He also published popular multi-volume adventure stories, known as chivalric romances, which were best-sellers back then. Examples include The Mirror of Knighhood and Champions of Christendom.

After His Death

The exact date Cuthbert Burby died is not known, but it was sometime between August and September 1607. In 1609, Burby's wife transferred the rights to his books, mostly religious ones, to his former apprentice, Nicholas Bourne. Bourne became a successful publisher of news, working for many years with Nathaniel Butter.

People have different opinions about the quality of Burby's published works. Some have said that the printing in some of his books wasn't very good. Even though Burby wasn't the printer himself, he was responsible for hiring good craftsmen. Some have even argued that the printing in the "bad quarto" of Romeo and Juliet from 1597 was actually better than the printing in Burby's "good" quarto from 1599.