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A Decree of Starre-Chamber, 1637 Imprint [I]A Decree of Starre-Chamber, Concerning Printing,

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
A Decree of Starre-Chamber, 1637 Imprint [I]A Decree of Starre-Chamber, Concerning Printing,
<B><I>A Decree of Starre-Chamber, Concerning Printing,</B></I></B></I> <I>Made the eleventh day of July last past. 1637.</B></I> (London: Robert Barker and the assignes of John Bill, 1637), first edition, (64) pages, red tooled morocco with banded spine and gilt titles, all edges gilt, a printer's device on title page, 12mo (5.75" x 7.25"), bookplate of Jacobi P. R. Lyell. The Star Chamber was an English court of law at the royal Palace of Westminster that dealt with issues too serious to be entrusted to the regular courts of law. This particular ordinance was issued in 1637, their fourth concerning printing. It set forth the following: every printer in the land should place his name on each item he printed; a restriction was made to the number of master printers in one establishment; one copy of every publication should be sent to Stationers' Hall; further restrictions on the trade that affected virtually every aspect of its work. It is the most important single historical document affecting the history of printing in England. This is an excellent copy in a beautiful binding save for some minor outward warping to the boards. From the Henry E. Luhrs Collection.