History of Em'ly Printing in Ireland 13 



are well worthy of examination by those interested in typography. 

 His first place of business was at the Bridgefoot, now Bridgefoot 

 Street, and his last in Castle Street. 



Franckton, having made over his life Patent to the two 

 members of the London Company of Stationers as already 

 mentioned, in the year 1619, passed then out of the printing 

 world. He died soon after, viz., in October 1620, as appears in 

 the Funeral Entries of the time. 



Of the two men to whom the new Patent in reversion was 

 given, Felix Kingston, the first named, was over here in person 

 in 1618, as he printed official documents here. One of such 

 documents survives and is to be found in the collection of the 

 Society of Antiquaries, Loudon, among their Broadsides. I 

 exhibit a photograph of it. The colleague of Kingston, Thomas 

 Downes, came here very soon after him, if not actually with 

 him, and he did printing here also. I have the pleasure of 

 shewing a specimen of his work, but practically all the printing 

 from this time on, say from the year 1620, bears the imprint of 

 either' the Company of Stationers or the Society of Stationers. 

 This great London Society have preserved a register and records 

 from which it would appear, thanks to the labours of Mr. Arber, 

 that they treated the Dublin business separately from theirLondon 

 business and it is frequently referred to as the "Irish Stock" 

 and apparently different printers were sent over (principally 

 members of the Company), to act as their agents in Dublin. 

 One, who appears to have been here for a time in succession to 

 Thomas Downes, was Robert Young, who afterwards printed in 

 Scotland. Li April 1624 he was admitted to the franchise here, 

 but this is all we know of him while in Dublin, though it is a 

 clue to his date. Then, later on again, in or before the year 

 1630, came a printer named Wm. Bladen, who, in or before the 

 year 1641, purchased from the Company of Stationers their 

 Irish Stock and business aiid started printing for himself. This 

 Irish business appears to have been failing, but Bladen was made 

 State Printer in 1642 and there was a considerable output from 



