Richard Royston
Richard Royston | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1601 Oxford, England |
| Died | November 1686 |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, bookseller |
| Years active | 1627–1686 |
| Known for | Serving as royal bookseller to Charles I, Charles II, and James II; publishing royalist literature including Eikon Basilike |
Richard Royston (born 1601 in Oxford – died November 1686) was a prominent English publisher and bookseller who served the royal courts of Charles I, Charles II, and James II.
Life
The son of a tailor from Oxford, Royston became a freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1627. During the 1630s, he issued publications by notable authors such as John Donne and Thomas Heywood. His pamphlet Pro-quiritatio, which opposed Parliament, was suppressed in 1642. Subsequently, he concentrated on producing works by high-Anglican writers including Jeremy Taylor and Henry Hammond.
In 1645, Royston was accused by parliamentary printer John Wright of distributing "scandalous books" critical of Parliament. He was incarcerated in the Fleet prison and sought release through petition. The following year, 1646, he published Judgment and Mercie for afflicted Soules by Francis Quarles, dedicating it to Charles I. The initial edition of Είκών Βασιλική, printed for Royston in 1648, was reprinted approximately fifty times within half a year.
Despite registering royalist literature with the Stationers' Company in 1649, Royston faced scrutiny and limitations for issuing unlicensed pamphlets. He appeared before the council again in 1653 on related charges. After the Restoration in 1660, Charles I granted him exclusive rights to print the king’s works, acknowledging both his allegiance and financial setbacks from publishing royalist texts such as Eikon Basilike. In 1663, Charles II endorsed his appointment as an assistant within the Stationers' Company.
As the official royal bookseller, Royston confiscated unauthorized copies of Richard Alleine's Vindiciæ Pietatis (1664), but later acquired and retailed them, which led to a reprimand from the privy council. In 1666, he received a £300 compensation grant for losses incurred during the Great Fire of London.
Referred to as "Orthodox Roystone," he held the position of master of the Stationers’ Company during 1673–74 and left a legacy gift of plate to the company. Royston passed away in 1686 at eighty-six years old and was interred at Christ Church Greyfriars. A commemorative inscription there honors him as "bookseller to three kings" and also memorializes his granddaughter Elizabeth and daughter Mary, who married fellow bookseller Richard Chiswell.