Richard Meighen (died 1641) was a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He is noted for his publications of plays of English Renaissance drama; he published the second Ben Jonson folio of 1640/41, and was a member of the syndicate that issued the

Second Folio The Second Folio is the 1632 edition of the collected plays of William Shakespeare. It follows the First Folio of 1623. Much language was updated in the Second Folio and there are almost 1,700 changes. The major partners in the First Folio had ...

Shakespeare's 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 ...

collected plays in 1632.

Life and career

Meighen came from a family with strong connections to

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

; his father, John Meighen (son of a Richard Meighen who was a tanner in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

), was named headmaster in 1583 and continued in the post for a remarkable 52 years, until his death in September 1635. Several members of the Meighen family (including at least two named Richard) attended the school as students. Meighen the publisher maintained a lifelong connection with the school, and published works relating to it. Meighen was active as a publisher during the years 1615 to 1641; his shops, as his title pages specify, were "under St. Clement's Church" in the

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

, and "next to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

." He started his career on a prestigious note, acting as

William Stansby William Stansby (1572–1638) was a London printer and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, working under his own name from 1610. One of the most prolific printers of his time, Stansby is best remembered for publishing the landmark first ...

's sales agent when Stansby printed and published the first Jonson folio in 1616. Like many stationers of his era, Meighen concentrated on publishing and selling books, and commissioned printers to print the works he published. His first edition of William Slater's ''Palae-Albion: The History of Great Britain'' (

1621 Events January–March * January 12 – Şehzade Mehmed, the 15-year old half-brother of Ottoman Sultan Osman II, is put to death by hanging on Osman's orders. Before dying, Mehmed prays aloud that Osman's reign as Sultan be rui ...

), for example, was printed by Stansby — though Meighen also worked with most of the printers of his generation.

Drama

While he issued a wide range of works of various types — including an edition of

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The C ...

's ''Annals'' in 1631 — Meighen's volumes of drama are his most significant works, judged in retrospect. Meighen appears to have been only a minor partner in the 1632 Shakespeare Second Folio (he'd obtained the rights to ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' in 1630); but he was a prime mover of the 1640/41 Jonson volume, which collected most of the post-1616 plays,

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...

s, and miscellaneous works of the poet/dramatist. In publishing this volume, Meighen collaborated with

Philip Chetwinde Philip Chetwinde ( fl. 1653–1674) was a seventeenth-century London bookseller and publisher, noted for his publication of the Third Folio of Shakespeare's plays. A rough start Chetwinde was originally a clothworker. Through his 1637 marriag ...

, who would publish the Shakespeare

Third Folio 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 1663/64. William Stansby, the printer/publisher of the first Jonson folio, also printed the second. In addition to the Shakespeare and Jonson folios, Meighen published a number of plays in single editions, including: * 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 anonymous '' Swetnam the Woman Hater Arraigned by Women'' (1620); * the second and third editions of John Fletcher's ''

The Faithful Shepherdess ''The Faithful Shepherdess'' is a Jacobean era stage play, the work that inaugurated the playwriting career of John Fletcher. Though the initial production was a failure with its audience, the printed text that followed proved significant, in t ...

,'' 1629 (printed by

Thomas Cotes Thomas Cotes (died 1641) was a London printer of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, best remembered for printing the Second Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays in 1632. Life and work Thomas Cotes became a "freeman" (a full member) of the S ...

) and 1634 (printed by

Augustine Matthews Augustine Matthews (fl. 1615 – 1637) was a printer in London in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in English Renaissance drama. Matthews became a freedman (a full member) o ...

) respectively; * 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 ...

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

's ''

Michaelmas Term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...

'' (1630); * the second

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

of Middleton's '' The Phoenix'' (also 1630); * the second quarto of

Barten Holyday Barten Holyday or Holiday (1593 – 2 October 1661) was an English clergyman, author and poet.F. D. A. Burns, ‘Holyday , Barten (1593–1661)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Career He was educated ...

's ''

Technogamia ''Technogamia, or the Marriages of the Arts'' is a Jacobean era stage play, an allegory written by Barten Holyday that was first performed and published in 1618. Performances ''Technogamia'' was first staged on 13 February 1618 by the students ...

'' (also 1630); * the first quarto of

Shackerley Marmion Shackerley Marmion (January 1603 – 1639), also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of ...

's ''

A Fine Companion ''A Fine Companion'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion that was first printed in 1633. It is one of only three surviving plays by Marmion. The play was published in 1633 in a quarto printed by Augustine Matthe ...

'' (1633), printed by Augustine Matthews; * the first quartos of Sir

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bot ...

's ''The Triumphs of the Prince D'Amour'', ''

The Wits ''The Wits'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by Sir William Davenant. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 19 January 1634; it was staged by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It wa ...

'', and ''

The Platonick Lovers ''The Platonick Lovers'' is a Caroline era stage play which blends the genres of tragicomedy, satire, and comedy of manners. It was written by Sir William Davenant and first printed in 1636. The play can be regarded as one of the more subtle and ...

'' (all 1636). Meighen published posthumous first editions of the three plays of Thomas Goffe — ''The Raging Turk'' (1631), ''The Courageous Turk'' (1632), and ''Orestes'' (1633). In 1628, he issued ''A Recantation of an Ill-Led Life'', the memoir of the minor dramatist

John Clavell John Clavell (1601–1643) was a highwayman, author, lawyer, and doctor. He is known for his poem ''A Recantation of an Ill Led Life'', and his play '' The Soddered Citizen''.John H. P. Pafford, ''John Clavell 1601–1643: Highwayman, Author, La ...

. He also printed his share of the popular and ephemeral literature of his era, like Thomas Harper's ''The True History of the Tragic Loves of Hippolito and Isabella'' (1633). His modern reputation as a publisher is mixed; critics do not rank him highly in terms of the quality of the texts he produced. In particular, the second Jonson folio has been condemned for its poor printing and organizational confusion.

Post mortem

Early in 1641 Meighen entered into a partnership with three other stationers for the purpose of publishing law books; but he died before the planned partnership could produce any results. His widow, Mercy Meighen, received a court grant of the right to administer her late husband's estate on March 21, 1642 (

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 ...

). Mercy Meighen (died 1654) continued her late husband's business, entering a partnership with stationer Gabriell Bedell in November 1646.Henry Robert Plomer, ''A Dictionary of the Booksellers and Printers Who Were at Work in England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1641 to 1667,'' London, The Bibliographical Society/Blades, East & Blades, 1907; pp. 126-7. Yet another Richard Meighen, a son of Richard and Mercy Meighen, continued in the publishing business; he issued ''Three Excellent Tragedies,'' a collected edition of Goffe's plays, in 1656.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meighen, Richard Publishers (people) from London 1641 deaths Year of birth unknown