Thomas Pavier
Thomas Pavier | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1625 |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, bookseller |
| Years active | Early 1600s |
| Known for | Publishing early editions of Shakespeare plays and Shakespeare Apocrypha; involvement in the False Folio incident |
Thomas Pavier (deceased 1625) was a prominent London-based publisher and bookseller active in the early 1600s. His intricate involvement in the publication of early versions of several Shakespeare plays, as well as works linked to the Shakespeare Apocrypha, has contributed to his somewhat controversial standing.
Life and work
Pavier's entry into the publishing world was unconventional; on 3 June 1600, he transitioned from the Drapers Company to the Stationers Company without undergoing the usual apprenticeship process. Previously, he had trained under William Barley, a draper who also dealt in books. That same year, Pavier launched his shop at the Cat and Parrots sign, located "opposite Pope's Head Alley" in Cornhill. Early in his career, he encountered legal issues with the Court of Stationers due to unauthorized printing activities, including the illicit printing of a Latin grammar guide, alongside partners such as Barley and printer Simon Stafford. Authorities confiscated four thousand copies from his brother Roger's residence. In June 1598, Pavier allied with Stafford in bringing charges against Cuthbert Burby for riotous behavior; however, the case was dismissed and all parties involved were briefly detained in Fleet Prison.
Throughout a quarter-century career, Pavier accumulated considerable wealth by issuing multiple editions of popular Puritan texts. Initially, his publications centered on lower-status printed materials like ballads, chapbooks, pamphlets, and playbooks. Among his early ballads were The Fair Widow of Watling Street and Her Three Daughters (circa 1600), followed by works such as The Lamentable Murthers of Sir John Fitz (1605), A Cruel Murther in Worcestershire (1605), The Fire in Shoreditch (1606), The Traitors' Downfall (1606), The Shepherd's Lamentation (1612), and The Burning of Tyverton (1612). He also published ballads authored by notable figures like Thomas Deloney and Samuel Rowlands.
Pavier’s enterprise flourished; by 1622 he had attained the position of Junior Warden within his guild while maintaining his involvement in ballad publishing. Between 1612 and 1620, when the Stationers Company limited ballad printing rights to only five members, Pavier was included among them. In 1624, he became part of the "Ballad Stock," a consortium dedicated to producing ballads in print form.
Drama
One of Pavier’s initial actions as a stationer was entering the anonymous drama Captain Thomas Stukeley into the Stationers' Register on 11 August 1600, with his 1605 edition being the earliest surviving copy. He issued several other plays as well, including the anonymous The Fair Maid of Bristow (1605) and The First Part of Hieronimo (1605), which serves as a "prequel" to Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. Pavier also secured rights to Kyd’s play on 14 August 1600 and published its fourth edition in 1602. Furthermore, he released the third quarto edition of A Looking Glass for London by Thomas Lodge and Robert Greene (1602), along with the second quarto of the anonymous Jack Straw (1604).
Shakespeare
Thomas Pavier is primarily recognized for issuing editions of Shakespeare's dramas as well as works from the Shakespeare Apocrypha:
- Sir John Oldcastle – entered into the register on 11 August 1600 and anonymously printed the same year; Shakespeare's name was only linked to it in 1619.
- Henry V – obtained publishing rights from Thomas Millington and John Busby on 14 August 1600; released the second quarto edition in 1602.
- Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3 – acquired rights from Millington on 19 April 1602 for earlier versions titled The First Part of the Contention Betwixt the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster and The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York. These editions were not printed until the False Folio incident.
- A Yorkshire Tragedy – registered on 2 May 1608 and published that same year with Shakespeare credited on the title page.
False Folio
Pavier collaborated with William Jaggard in the disputed False Folio event of 1619, which involved the release of ten quartos attributed to Shakespeare or related authors, some featuring forged title pages. Early versions of 2 and 3 Henry VI were combined into a single volume titled The Whole Contention Between the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster. This volume was issued alongside four others—Henry V, Sir John Oldcastle, A Yorkshire Tragedy, and Pericles, Prince of Tyre—each marked with "T. P." initials on their covers. The only surviving complete False Folio copy is preserved at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
The extent of Pavier's involvement is still subject to scholarly debate. As a commercial partner of Jaggard, some researchers argue that Pavier may have had a more central role, which has led to these editions being referred to as "Pavier quartos." Within Shakespearean scholarship, he is frequently characterized as a 'notorious piratical publisher.'
Other connections
Pavier’s association with Shakespeare’s works was otherwise limited. When Thomas Millington transferred rights for 2 and 3 Henry VI in 1602, his copyright for Titus Andronicus was also included; however, Pavier never published this play—the third edition released in 1611 was produced by bookseller Edward White.
In 1608, Pavier issued The History of Hamblet, which recounts the Hamlet narrative based on Shakespeare’s source materials—the Historia Danica by Saxo Grammaticus and the Histoires Tragiques by François de Belleforest. This publication was probably intended to leverage the widespread popularity of Shakespeare’s theatrical work.