Thomas Snodham was an English printer. He was a specialist music printer, but music accounted for as little as 10 per cent of the books he printed. His other output included plays. Thomas Lord Cromwell

Early life

Snodham was the son of a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

. In 1595 he was apprenticed to his uncle, the printer

Thomas East Thomas East, (also spelled Easte, Est, or Este) (''c.''1540 – January 1609), was an English printer who specialised in music. He has been described as a publisher, but that claim is debatable (the specialties of printer and bookseller/publish ...

. East had started as a general printer, but specialised in music printing after acquiring music type from a deceased printer. He printed works by well-known composers such as

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...

and

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

.Jeremy L. Smith
‘East, Thomas (1540–1608)’
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 , accessed November 2014 (subscription or UK public library membership required)

Printing career

Snodham became a freeman 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 company, livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Compan ...

in 1602. He printed his first book the following year, ''King James his entertainment at Theobalds'', which was sold from East's premises.''King Iames his entertainment at Theobalds vvith his welcome to London, together with a salutatorie poeme''. By John Savile. The title refers to the final stage of King

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

´s progress from Scotland in 1603. The king stayed at

Theobalds Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a r ...

in Hertfordshire, receiving the homage of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

prior to entering London. When East died in 1608, his will made clear that he wanted Snodham to take over his business, while at the same time he made provision for the financial security of his widow Lucretia. ''Thomas East and Music Publishing in Renaissance England''. Jeremy L. Smith (2003) Snodham acquired East's printing equipment and worked with some of the same composers such as

John Wilbye John Wilbye (baptized 7 March 1574September 1638) was an English madrigal composer. Early life and education The son of a tanner, he was born at Brome, Suffolk, England. (Brome is near Diss.) Career Wilbye received the patronage of the Cornwa ...

. For a while, the business continued to use the old name; for example, the second set of Wilbye's 'Madrigals' (1609) is stated to be printed by "Thomas East, alias Snodham". Snodham died in 1626.

Snodham and English drama

In 1612, Snodham printed the first edition of

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

's play ''The Alchemist'', which had been premiered in 1610 by the King's Men. The following year he printed the second quarto of ''

Thomas Lord Cromwell ''Thomas Lord Cromwell'' is an Elizabethan history play, depicting the life of Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, the minister of King Henry VIII of England. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on 11 August 1602 by William Cot ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snodham, Thomas 1626 deaths English printers Music printers 17th-century printers