Thomas Jenner (publisher) facts for kids
Thomas Jenner (died 1673) was an English author, artist, and publisher in London. He ran a print shop near the south entrance of the Royal Exchange starting in 1624. The Royal Exchange was a very important business center in London at the time.
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His Business and Work
Thomas Jenner was known as a Puritan publisher. This means he published books and prints that supported strong religious and moral ideas, especially those of the Protestant faith. He sold many different kinds of items, including:
- Prints (pictures)
- Books
- Picture frames
- Stationery (like paper and pens)
He was a big competitor to other print sellers like Peter Stent. Jenner sold portraits, including some of the royal family. He also sold broadsides, which were large printed sheets of paper often used for news or political messages.
Many talented artists worked for Jenner, creating engravings for his publications. These included Francis Delaram and William Marshall.
Books and Maps by Jenner
Books with Hidden Meanings
One of Jenner's first books was The Soules Solace; or Thirty and one Spirituall Emblems. It was published several times, with a new title later: Divine Mysteries that cannot be seene, made plain by that which can be seene.
These were "emblem books." An emblem book uses pictures (engravings) along with short texts, like poems, to teach moral or spiritual lessons. Jenner's book had 30 copper-plate engravings, each with a description.
One interesting picture showed a person smoking tobacco. A poem with it suggested, "Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco." However, another writer named George Wither, who was against smoking, wrote a reply saying, "Thus thinke, drinke no Tobacco."
Many of the pictures in Jenner's emblem books were based on sermons (religious talks) given in London. Some of them showed strong anti-Catholic feelings.
Jenner made two more books like these:
- The Ages of Sin: This book showed how sin grows step by step, from a thought to a final refusal to change. Each picture had six lines of poetry.
- The Path of Life and the Way that leadeth down to the Chambers of Death: Published in 1656, this book aimed to show people the paths to heaven and hell through copper prints.
Maps for Travelers and Soldiers
Jenner also published maps. He is known for Direction for the English Traveller, which had maps by Jacob van Langeren in 1643. This book helped people find their way around England.
He also published the "Quartermaster's Map," which was very important during the English Civil War. Both sides in the war used this map to plan their movements. It was created by Wenceslas Hollar and was based on older maps by Christopher Saxton.
Other Interesting Works
In 1648, Jenner published a series of papers called A further Narrative of the Passages of these Times. This included a famous engraving of people pulling down Cheapside Cross, which was a public monument in London. It also had portraits of important figures like Oliver Cromwell.
Another book he published in 1650 was A Work for none but Angels and Men, that is to be able to look into and know ourselves. Or a Booke showing what the Soule is. This book explored what the human soul is.
Other works by Thomas Jenner include:
- Wonderful and Strange Punishments inflicted on the Breakers of the Ten Commandments, London, 1650.
- A large print of a ship called The Soverayne of the Seas, 1653.
