A decree of Starre-Chamber concerning printing ….

1.18 Decree of Starre Chamber.jpg

Title

A decree of Starre-Chamber concerning printing ….

Coverage

London

Publisher

Robert Barker

Date

1637

Description

Issued by the powerful and abusive Court of Star Chamber under King Charles I, this infamous decree forbade the manufacture, sale, or possession of types and presses without special dispensation, and by banning the unlicensed practice of the trades of printer, publisher, or book-seller. The unpopular decree was in force only four years before the Long Parliament abolished the Court of Star Chamber. The text was reissued in 1884 as the first publication of the Grolier Club, at the instigation of founding Grolier member Theodore Low De Vinne (1828–1914).