198 A. D. 1591. 



them, that akhough they had written to her with fo little refped, fhe 

 imputed that rather to their amanuenfis, or fecretary, than to them- 

 felves ; at the fame time letting them know how much {he defpifed 

 their menaces. [T'huani Hijl. L. 100,] 



Some members of the Englifh Turkey, or Levant, company, having, 

 about the year 1584, carried part of their cloth, tin, &c. from Aleppo 

 to Bagdat, and thence down the river Tygris to Ormus in the Perfian 

 gulf, and thence farther to Goa, for an attempt to fettle a trade to 

 Eafl-India over land, for that end carried the queen's recommendatory 

 letters to the king of Cambaya, and to the king of China. They found 

 the Venetians had fad;ories at all thofe places, and were therefor great 

 enemies to this attempt of the Englifh, who, however, foon after travel- 

 led to fundry other places in India, and to Agra, the great Mogul's 

 capital ; alfo to Labor, to Bengal, to Pegu, Malacca, &c. and return- 

 ed by fea to Ormus, and fo up the Tygris to Bagdat, Bir, and Aleppo, 

 and laftly to Tripoly in Syria, and failed thence in an Englifh fhip to 

 London this year ( 1 591), having naade many ufeful remarks and dif- 

 coveries on the nature of the Eaft-India commerce, preparatory to their 

 intended voyage by fea to India, now adlually going out. 



We now find the firfl inftance recorded in the Foedera of an exclufive 

 patent for the fole right of printing and publifhing a book granted by 

 the queen to Richard Wright of Oxford, authorizing him to publifh an 

 Englifh tranflation of Tacitus, and prohibiting all others from printing 

 the fame during his life, or importing any Englifh tranflation whatever 

 of Tacitus from beyond the fea *. [Fadera, V. xvL, p. 96.] 



Chriftiern IV, king of Denmark, in anfwer to Queen Elizabeth's com- 

 plaints of exadions from the Englifh merchants, with refpeft to the toll 



• Tfiis En';lifh tranflation of Tacitus has efcap- and for maps and charts, with a falary of Li : 6 : 8 

 fd the refearchcs of the laborious Fabricius. And a-year ; and he prohibited all other printers from 

 fcveral earlier exchifive grants for printing particu- invading his privilege. IFatiera, V. xv,^. 150.] 

 1 ir books have cfcaped i\lr. Aiiderfon. 'IS'- — Laurence Torrentine, a German, print- 

 In the yeari5;^4 Henr)' VIII gave the unl- er to Cofmo duke of Florence, having printed an 

 yerfitv of Cisrribridge the privilt-ge of appointing edition of Jullinian's Pandefts from the celebrated 

 three ftationers and printers, i:atives or foreigners, copy, wliich had been prcferved at Pifa (but pre- 

 who might print and fell all books licence<l by the vioully at Amalfi) King Edward prohibited all 

 chancellor of the univerfuy, or his deputies. But his fubjefts from reprinting it, either without, or 

 he does not fay that nobody elfe (li?.!! print or fell with, notes or additions, for the fpace of fevea 

 the bo;',ks. \_Fcsd:ra, V. y.\v, p. ^j^y. \ years. \^Fadera, V. yis, p. 2^^.'\ 



i5-i9. — He directed Lord Crunnvell to fuperin- None of thefe grants were to the authors. But, 



tend the printing of the Englilh Bible, and gave 12th March 1363, Q£een Elizabeth granted to 



the exclufive privilege of printing ic for five years Thom;iS Cooper of Oxford, and his alligns, the 



to any pcrfons who fliould be appointed by him. fole right of printing and publifhing his didtionary, 



[Fddera, V. xlv, /. 649.] entitled ' Thefaurus utriufqus lingua Lalinte et Bri- 



1542. — Tiie lame .king gave Antony Marlar, ' tannics,' for twelve years, and prohibited all a- 



citizcn and haberdaff.er of London, the exclufive brijgenients or other attempts to pirate the work, 



privilege (,f i)rinii;g (he Bible in Englifh for four \_Fisdcra, V. y.\, p. 628.] This is clearly a literary 



years. \_F(eJera, F. xiv,p. 745.] property vefled in the author ; and it is, if I mif- 



1549 — Edward VI gave Reginald Wolf for take not, the carliell certain inllancc of it upon 



life the office of his printer and bookfcller for record in Gieat Britain. M. 

 Lat'n, Greek, and Hebrew, books, for grammars, 



