Henry Bynneman (died 1583), was an English printer of the 16th century.

Career

His career as a printer lasted from 1566, when he became free of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

, until 1583. He had been apprenticed to Richard Harrison in 1560, but that printer died about January 1563; though definitive evidence is lacking, Bynneman likely served the remainder of his apprenticeship with Reyner Wolfe. He became one of that select group of printers to whom the Archbishop of Canterbury,

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...

, extended his patronage. Through the good offices of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and Sir

Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

, in 1580 Bynneman obtained a privilege to print "all dictionaries in all tongues, all chronicles and histories whatsoever." He had previously printed and published with privileges for "bookes" .e. proclamationsdealing with the lottery as well as a variety of works seemingly secured after Matthew Parker wrote to William Cecil in 1569 on his behalf. Though he is known for printing

Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...

for a group of wealthy stationers in 1577, he did not so under his royal patent, which he did not yet have. In addition to printing works by noted authors such as

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...

Gabriel Harvey Gabriel Harvey (c. 1552/3 – 1631) was an English writer. Harvey was a notable scholar, whose reputation suffered from his quarrel with Thomas Nashe. Henry Morley, writing in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (March 1869), has argued that Harvey's Lati ...

George Turberville George Turberville, or Turbervile (about 1540 – before 1597) was an English poet. Life He was the second son of Henry Turberville of Winterborne Whitechurch, Dorset, and nephew of James Turberville, Bishop of Exeter. The Turbervilles were an ...

, and others, Bynneman printed the first Welsh New Testament translated directly from Greek in 1567 for publisher

Humphrey Toy Humphrey Toy (1537 – 16 October 1577) was a British bookseller and publisher, and the son of bookseller Robert Toy. In 1567, he published the first translation of New Testament in Welsh from the original Greek, translated by his close friend W ...

, along with the first Welsh edition of the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

. Bynneman had three presses by 1583, and, as the inventory of his property shows, had a varied stock of type, including Greek and Hebrew. He was the first printer in England to use a script of the kind known as civilité or "

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

." Bynneman died in 1583, leaving a widow and several children, one of whom, Christopher, was in 1600 apprenticed to Thomas Dawson. Upon his death his stock of books was handed over to London Armourer Richard Hutton, because Bynneman had, by 1581, defaulted on a loan of £1,000 given to him by Hutton. The Eliot's Court Press purchased some of his type and his decorative blocks and initials.

References

* 1583 deaths English printers 16th-century English businesspeople Year of birth unknown {{England-business-bio-stub