Edward Allde facts for kids

Edward Allde (born around 1560, died 1627) was an English printer in London. He worked during the Elizabethan and Jacobean times. Edward Allde printed many important books, including some early versions of plays by William Shakespeare.

Life of a Printer

Edward Allde came from a family of printers. His father, John Allde, his mother Margaret, and later his wife Elizabeth all worked in the printing business. Edward took over his father's company when John died in 1584. He became a full member, or "freeman," of the Stationers Company that same year. This company was like a guild for printers and booksellers.

Edward continued many of his father's printing jobs. For example, his father printed the first small, early edition (called a quarto) of a play called Cambyses. Edward then printed the second edition of the same play.

At first, Edward ran the business with his mother's help. Their shop was in a busy part of London called the Poultry. In 1593, Edward opened his own shop in Fore Street, Cripplegate. His mother Margaret kept running the old shop for a while.

Edward was a successful printer. He kept his two printing presses busy. He printed many types of books, like small, cheap books called chapbooks, playbooks, and more serious books. He also printed ballads (songs), songbooks, and jestbooks (joke books). He was known for printing fun, entertaining books. Later in his career, in the 1620s, Edward Allde helped print some of England's first newspapers.

Even though he printed a lot, some experts say his work wasn't always the best quality. One person said, "his work was poor."

Printers sometimes had problems with the authorities back then. This included their own guild and the government. Many printers were fined for breaking rules. Some were even sent to prison. Edward Allde also faced these issues. He was fined for printing books he didn't have permission for. His presses were shut down twice. He was even sent to prison once by the Secretary of State. In 1623, he admitted to company officials that he had "behaved badly."

Shakespeare's Plays

Edward Allde printed important early versions of Shakespeare's plays:

• He printed part of the first small edition (the "bad quarto") of Romeo and Juliet in 1597. He did this for a publisher named Cuthbert Burby.
• He printed the third small edition of Titus Andronicus in 1611. This was for Edward White.
• He printed the second edition of Robert Chester's Love's Martyr in 1611. This book included Shakespeare's poem The Phoenix and the Turtle.

Edward Allde shared the printing of Romeo and Juliet with another printer, John Danter. They wanted to finish the job quickly. Danter printed the first few sections, and Allde printed the rest. Only Danter's name was on the book's title page. Experts figured out Allde's part by looking at damaged letters in the printed pages. These same damaged letters showed up in other books Allde printed around that time.

Other Important Works

Besides Shakespeare, Edward Allde printed the first editions of many other important plays:

• Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (around 1592)
• Christopher Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris (around 1594)
• George Peele's The Battle of Alcazar (1594)
• Thomas Dekker's Satiromastix (1602)
• Thomas Middleton's The Phoenix (1607)
• Philip Massinger's The Bondman (1624)

He also printed later editions of plays, like Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Part 2 in 1606. Allde worked closely with bookseller Edward White for many years.

Edward Allde printed many other types of books too. He printed pamphlets by Samuel Rowlands, like The Knave of Clubs (1611). He also printed books about current events, such as Elizabetha Quasi Vivens: Eliza's Funeral (1603). This book was written to honor Queen Elizabeth I after her death.

He printed the sixth volume of The Mirror of Knighthood (1598). This was a very popular story about knights and adventures. It was one of the best-selling books of its time. He also printed an early book for young people. It was Nicholas Breton's The Passionate Shepherd... (1604). This book had poems and sonnets "fit for young heads to pass away idle hours."

Allde also printed music books. One example is John Amner's Sacred Hymnes (1615). He also printed a book about music theory by Thomas Ravenscroft in 1614.

Publishing Books

Most printers like Edward Allde focused on printing. They usually left the decisions about which books to sell to booksellers. However, Allde also published some books himself. The editions of Cambyses and The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses are examples of books he both printed and published.

When printers published their own books, they often worked with booksellers to sell them. For example, Allde's 1610 book News from Virginia said "to be sold by John Wright" on its title page.

Edward's Wife, Elizabeth

Edward Allde's wife, Elizabeth, continued his printing business after he died in 1627. She ran the company until 1633. Both Edward and Elizabeth used "E. A." or "E. Allde" on their books. Because of this, scholars in the 1800s sometimes got their works mixed up.

Elizabeth Allde printed the third edition of the play Wily Beguiled (1630). She also published and printed the second edition of Robert Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (1630). Another play she printed was the third edition of Arden of Faversham (1633).

Elizabeth Allde printed many non-play books too. She printed William Prynne's Anti-Arminianism (1630). She also published a collection of works by Sallust (1629). She was one of four printers who worked on a collected edition of the works of John Taylor the Water Poet in 1630. Like her husband, she also printed ballads.

In 1633, the Allde printing business was taken over by Richard Oulton. He was Elizabeth's son-in-law. Oulton continued the business until 1643.