Richard Tottel facts for kids

Richard Tottel (died 1594) was an English publisher who printed many important books. He had his business in London, on Fleet Street near Temple Bar. While he mostly printed legal documents, he is most famous for a special book he put together and published in 1557. It was called Songes and Sonnettes.

Richard Tottel's Early Life

Richard Tottel's early life is a bit of a mystery. His father, William Tothill (a common spelling of their family name), was a wealthy person from Exeter, England. William held many important jobs in his town, like bailiff in 1528, sheriff in 1529, and even mayor in 1552. Richard was the third of eleven children, with three brothers and seven sisters.

Around 1540, Richard Tottel became an apprentice to William Middleton, a printer of law books in London. This meant he worked for Middleton to learn the printing trade. In 1547, Middleton died. His wife soon remarried another law book printer named William Powell. Tottel was then set free from his apprenticeship. He took over the printing shop of Henry Smithe in 1550 after Smithe passed away. Later, Tottel married Joan Grafton, and they had a son named William, along with several daughters.

Richard Tottel's Printing Career

The title page of a law book Tottel published in 1569. It says "Apud Richardum Tottellum" which means "Published by Richard Tottel." The words "Cum priuilegio" mean "With privilege," showing he had special permission to print law books.

Tottel's career really took off when he received a special patent. This patent gave him the exclusive right to print all official books about common law. He first got this right in April 1553 for seven years. It was renewed in 1556 for another seven years. Then, in 1559, Tottel was granted this special right for his entire life!

Tottel also played a big part in starting the Worshipful Company of Stationers. This was a group for printers and booksellers. When they received their official permission from the king in 1557, Tottel was named the sixty-seventh member out of ninety-four. Tottel later became a leader in the Stationers' Company. He held important titles like warden and master between 1578 and 1584. Because of his poor health, he was often away from his duties. Even so, he was still well-liked and respected by the company. He was always welcome to attend their meetings when he was able.

Most of the books Tottel published were law documents, since he was the only one allowed to print them from 1553 until he died. However, he also published many other types of books. These included literary works and even books about farming animals. The book that made him famous for a long time is Songes and Sonettes, also known as Tottel's Miscellany. He published and edited this important collection.

Here are some of the works Tottel published:

• William Baldwin – A Treatise of Morall Phylosophye Contaynyng the Sayinges of the Wise (1547)
• Thomas More – A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation (1553)
• John Lydgate – Fall of Princes (1554)
• Stephen Hawes – Pastime of Pleasure (1555)
• A translation of Cicero's De Officiis by Nicholas Grimald (1556)
• Translations of parts of Virgil's Aeneid by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1557)
• Thomas More – Works (1557)
• Thomas Tusser – A Hundreth Good Points of Husbandry (1557)
• Tottel's Miscellany (published in many editions from 1557 to 1574)
• Arthur Brooke – The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562)
• William Painter (author) – The Palace of Pleasure (1566–67)
• James Dyer – Collection of Cases (1586)

Richard Tottel's Death and Legacy

Richard Tottel died in early July 1593. His death was not a surprise, as he had been unwell for almost ten years due to old age. Since he was the only person with the right to print law books in Queen Elizabeth's kingdom, a big legal argument happened after he died. Eventually, his special printing right was ended. This meant that any publisher could then print law books.

Even though Tottel printed many books not related to law, most of his publications were legal documents. It's interesting that he is best known for the collection he edited and printed called Tottel's Miscellany or Songes and Sonnets. Tottel worked on this book very carefully and bravely. His accuracy and skill were very high, which was not always common in his time. Now, hundreds of years later, and after eight editions of the book, he is still praised for his work on this and many other important English literature pieces.