Richard Tottell in United Kingdom

Richard Tottell had been involved in the publication of Year Books. He was a King’s Printer.

In 1553 Richard Tottell began his publications of the Year Books. . .Early in his publishing career Tottell began to publish the separate years in groups.

Tottell received a second licencel, dated 1st May. Tortell claimed the distinction that he was the printer of Year Books “Par excellence.”

Biography

“Richard Tottell was the third son of Exeter businessman and mayor, William Tottell. The surname appears in at least twelve English spellings, and as meticulous as Richard Tottell was to become in printing, he never settled on a single spelling of his name.

Tottell served his apprenticeship with two printers before he was admitted as a member of the Guild of Printers in London in 1552. The Guild of Printers, later the Worshipful Company of Stationers, replaced of the Guild of Stationers founded in 1403 — a professional association of scribes, illuminators, bookbinders, booksellers, and with the advent of printing, printers. His success was almost immediate, and in 1553, a few months before Edward VI’s death, he was granted the exclusive right to print for seven years all legal texts except statutes, which were issued by the King’s or Queen’s Printer. When Mary came to the throne in 1553, Tottell benefited from the patronage of formerly exiled Catholic jurists, including William Rastell, Thomas More’s nephew. Tottell’s royal patent was renewed by Mary on 1 May 1556. Shortly before Elizabeth I’s coronation, January 12, 1559, Elizabeth I granted Tottell the royal patent for as long “as he shall behave and demesne him selfe well in using of the said priviledge” – effectively a monpoly for life. Sometime in the later 1550’s he married Joan Grafton, daughter of former royal printer, Richard Grafton.

Tottell published a large number of editions of seventy-eight different titles, becoming quite wealthy in the process.

He remained active in the Company of Stationers from its incorporation as a Royal Livery Company in 1557 until poor health required him to retire to the countryside in 1588. He died a few years later in September 1593.

Strangely, although Tottell’s fortune and legacy lies with his legal printing, he was best known in his own time and long after for editing and printing a wildly successful collection of early Tudor court poetry entitled Songes and Sonettes, better known as Tottell’s Miscellany.” (1)

Technique

“With the advent of printing … left a legal researcher with an entire term to search for a single case. Tottel’s first attempt at greater precision was numbering of the cases (placita) in each term … Tottell further refined his system by providing regular foliation, or numbering leaves in a book … By enforcing rigid foliation of his editions, Tottell was able to cite not only to the quarter of a particular year and the case number, but the folio on which a particular issue was discussed. The foliation began at 1 each year.

His method was so useful that it became widely adopted, both by other printers and by practitioners. (…)” (2)

In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III

• Year 1326-1327 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1327-1328 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1328-1329 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1329-13230 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1330-1331 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1331-1332 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1332-1333 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1333-1334 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1334-1335 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1335-1336 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 )
• Year 1342-1343 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561? )
• Year 1342-1343 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1584? )
• Year 1343-1344 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561? )
• Year 1343-1344 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1584? )
• Year 1346-1347 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1346-1347 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1584 )
• Year 1347-1348 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1347-1348 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1348-1349 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1348-1349 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1349-1350 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1349-1350 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1350-1351 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1350-1351 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1351-1352 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1351-1352 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1352-1353 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1352-1353 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1353-1354 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1567 )
• Year 1353-1354 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1354-1355 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1354-1355 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1355-1356 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1355-1356 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1363-1364 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1363-1364 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1364-1365 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1364-1365 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1585 )
• Year 1365-1366 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1365-1366 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1365-1366 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1366-1367 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1366-1367 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1366-1367 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1367-1368 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1367-1368 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1367-1368 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1368-1369 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1368-1369 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1368-1369 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1369-1370 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1369-1370 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1369-1370 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1370-1371 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1370-1371 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1370-1371 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1371-1372 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1371-1372 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1371-1372 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1372-1373 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1372-1373 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1372-1373 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1373-1374 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1373-1374 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1373-1374 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1374-1375 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1374-1375 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1374-1375 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1375-1376 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1556 )
• Year 1375-1376 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1565 )
• Year 1375-1376 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1576 )
• Year 1326-1376 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1561 )
• Year 1326-1376 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1580 )

Resources

Notes

1. Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas
2. Id.

See Also

• Richard Pynson
• Adam Islip
• Thomas Berthelet
• Year Books of the Reign of Edward III
• Kings
• Year Book Reports
• Mediaval Law Documents
• Legal History
• Magna Carta
• Thomas Littleton
• Feudal Aids
• Edward Coke
• Curia Regis
• History of Magna Carta
• Citations
• Parliament History
• English Court System
• Witenagemot

Further Reading

• The Law Emprynted and Englysshed: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. David J Harvey (2015)
• The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain (severalvolumes). Nigel J. Morgan, ‎Lotte Hellinga, ‎John Barnard (1998)
• The Oxford History of the Laws of England Volume VI: 1483-1558. John Baker (2003)
• A Manual of Year Book Studies. William Craddock Bolland (2013)
• Anna Greening, “Tottell , Richard (b. in or before 1528, d. 1593),” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
• Early English Printed Books (1475 to 1640)
• A list of early English printers and books
• Collected Papers on English Legal History. John Baker (2013)
• Early English Printed Books in the University Library, Cambridge. C. E. Sayle – 2010
• Year Books of the Reign of King Edward the Third. Luke Owen Pike (2012)
• Year-Book Bibliography. CC Soule (‎1901)