Andrew Wise ( fl. 1589 – 1603), or Wyse or Wythes, was a London publisher of the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

who issued first editions of five

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

plays. "No other London stationer invested in Shakespeare as assiduously as Wise did, at least while Shakespeare was still alive." Andrew Wise was the son of a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

yeoman; as "Wythes," he served an eight-year apprenticeship under Henry Smith and Thomas Bradshaw starting in 1581, and became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers Company on 26 May 1589. He ran his own business in London from about 1593 to 1603; his shop was at the sign of the Angel in St. Paul's Churchyard. Wise published editions of the following five Shakespearean plays: *He entered '' Richard II'' into the Stationers' Register on 20 August

1597 Events January–June * January 24 – Battle of Turnhout: Maurice of Nassau defeats a Spanish force under Jean de Rie of Varas, in the Netherlands. * February – Bali is discovered, by Dutch explorer Cornelis Houtman. * February 5 � ...

, and published the

first quarto The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size. The publications of the latter are usually a ...

of the play before the end of the year. The second and third quartos both followed in

1598 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * February 21 – Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia, following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I; the ''Time of Troubles'' starts. * April 13 – Edict of Nantes (promulgated April 30 ...

. All three volumes were printed by

Valentine Simmes Valentine Simmes (fl. 1585 – 1622) was an Elizabethan era and Jacobean era printer; he did business in London, "on Adling Hill near Bainard's Castle at the sign of the White Swan." Simmes has a reputation as one of the better printers of his gene ...

. * '' Richard III'' was entered into the Stationers' Register on 20 October 1597; the first quarto appeared later that year. Wise published the

second quarto The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size. The publications of the latter are usually a ...

of ''R3'' in 1598, and the third in

1602 Events January–June * January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 De ...

. Valentine Simmes printed signatures A-G of the first quarto, with H-M coming from Peter Short's print shop. The other two books were printed by

Thomas Creede Thomas Creede (fl. 1593 – 1617) was a printer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, rated as "one of the best of his time." Based in London, he conducted his business under the sign of the Catherine Wheel in Thames Street from 1593 to 1600 ...

. * '' Henry IV, Part 1'' was registered on 25 February 1598 (

new style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

), and published later that year, printed by Valentine Simmes and Peter Short. Q2 followed in 1599, with printing by Simon Stafford. * '' Henry IV, Part 2'' was registered on 23 August

1600 __NOTOC__ In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. Events January–June * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January ** Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of T ...

; the sole quarto edition of the era was published that same year. In this case, Wise worked in partnership with colleague

William Aspley William Aspley (died 1640) was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. He was a member of the publishing syndicates that issued the First Folio and Second Folio collections of Shakespeare's plays, in 1623 and 1632. ...

; the printing was done once again by Valentine Simmes. * ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' was also registered on 23 August 1600, and published that year by Wise and Aspley, with printing by Simmes. In one view, "Andrew Wise...struck gold three times in a row in 1597–8 by picking what would become the three best-selling Shakespearean quartos as the first three plays of his brief career." In addition to Shakespeare's plays, Wise published a range of other contemporary works, including

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...

's ''Christ's Tears Over Jerusalem'' (1593), and

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques ...

's ''Observations in the Art of English Poesy'' (1602). As was typical of publishers of his era, he published religious and homiletic works, like ''The Pathway to Perfection'' and ''The Mean of Mourning'' (both 1596) by Thomas Playfair – though he appears to have operated a rather small-scale business, in comparison with other stationers of his generation. On 25 June 1603, Andrew Wise transferred his copyrights to ''R2, R3,'' and ''1H4'' to fellow stationer Matthew Law, who issued subsequent quartos of all three plays. Thereafter Wise "is not heard of again."

F. E. Halliday Frank Ernest Halliday (10 February 1903 – 26 March 1982) was an English academic, author and amateur painter. He wrote on a wide range of subjects, though he was best known for his books on William Shakespeare. F. E. Halliday (he preferre ...

, ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964,'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 533.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Andrew Publishers (people) from London 16th-century English businesspeople