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1601Shakespeare, Hamlet
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1603Shakespeare, Othello
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1605Letter about Guy Fawkes
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1607Newsbook
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1608Shakespeare, King Lear
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1608English arrives in North America
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1609Shakespeare's Sonnets
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1611King James Bible
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1612Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
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1613First English dictionary
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1616The Globe Theatre
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1623Shakespeare's First Folio
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1633John Donne, Poetry
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1640Jonson, The English Grammar
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1646Areopagitica by John Milton
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1649Confessions of Charles I's executioner
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1650Advert for a quack doctor
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1650Marvell, 'An Horatian Ode'
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1653Early A - Z of London
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1660Samuel Pepys' Diary
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1662Theatrical figures
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1665Coffee houses
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1665A cure for the Plague
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1666The Fire of London
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1667John Milton's Paradise Lost
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1674Criminal slang
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1677Aphra Behn, The Rover
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1678Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress
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1679Habeas Corpus Act
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1684Advert for a Rhinoceros
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1693Account of a shipwreck
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Intro
State control of printing was introduced by Henry VIII and continued into Elizabeth's reign, with further controls issued in 1586 and 1637 over the growing number of printing presses. In April 1638, political agitator John Lilburne was arrested for importing subversive books. He was fined £500 for contempt, and flogged for the two miles between Fleet Prison and the pillory. This controversial pamphlet, entitled Areopagitica, was written by the writer and poet John Milton as a protest against Lilburne's treatment. It was the first great impassioned plea for free speech. In fact, it had little impact. It was not until 1695 that the laws on printing were relaxed, allowing for a blossoming of newspapers and provincial presses.
Shelfmark: Ashley 1176.
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