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Reginald (or Reyner) Wolfe (died 1573) was a Dutch-born English Protestant printer and one of the original members of the Royal Stationers' Company.

Wolfe was born in Druten in the Netherlands.  He initially settled in Strasbourg, where he seems to have learned the art of printing and began making contacts in the book trade. 

The following is excerpted from the Dictionary of National Biography:

[Wolfe] seems to have learnt the art of printing [in Strasbourg], probably from Conrad Neobarius, whose device he afterwards adopted. . . . Reyner was probably most closely related to John Wolfe, a printer of Zurich, who rose to the position of a magistrate there, and was the host of many English protestant refugees (including John Jewell) during the reign of Queen Mary.

While at Strasbourg, Reyner seems to have made the acquaintance of Martin Bucer [q. v.].  Before 1537 he had settled in England, apparently at Archbishop Cranmer's invitation, but for some years later he annually visited Frankfort fair, bearing letters on these visits from Cromwell to English agents in Germany, and from Cranmer to Bucer, Bullinger, and other continental reformers (Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, vols, xii-xv. passim).  . . . He established his press in London in St. Paul's Churchyard, and, in imitation of Conrad Neobarius of Strasbourg, he set up the sign of the Brazen Serpent, which he adopted as his emblem and trade-mark in most of his publications. . . . 

Wolfe prospered in his trade. Edward VI patronised him and gave him the position of royal printer. He was the first who enjoyed a patent as printer to the king in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. The instrument also declared Wolfe to be his majesty's bookseller and stationer, with an annuity of 26s. 8d. during life. Other booksellers and stationers were prohibited from printing or selling any of his books. Despite his protestant zeal, Wolfe figured in the original charter granted by King Philip and Queen Mary to the Stationers' Company in 1554. He took an active part in the new organisation, and was generous in his gifts to it. In Queen Elizabeth's confirmation of the charter in 1559 Wolfe was described as master of the company. In 1564, 1567, and 1572 he again served in the same office. He proved a benefactor to many authors, including the Kentish antiquary John Twyne [q. v.] He died in 1573, and was buried in the church of St. Faith.

Wolfe's earliest publications include the writings of Archbishop Cranmer and John Leland (1506P-1552) [q. v.] the antiquary. He appreciated Cranmer's religious views and Leland's archseological zeal. As early as 1548 he designed a ' Universal History of Cosmography,' with maps and illustrations, and he amassed materials for the English, Scottish, and Irish portions of it during the remaining twenty-four years of his life. Before Leland's death in 1552 Wolfe acquired many of his manuscript collections. He employed William Harrison (1534-1593) [q. v.] and Raphael Holinshed [q. v.] to work on the cosmography and history under his direction, but no part of the scheme was completed at the date of Wolfe's death in 1573. Holinshed and his colleague, with the aid of others, continued their labours on a narrower scale, and their results were published in 1577 under the title of Holmshed's 'Chronicles' [see Holinshed, Raphael]. Some part of Wolfe's antiquarian collections was purchased by John Stow, who made much use of them in his works. Stow prepared for publication a history of England, which he described as 'Reyner Wolfe's Chronicle,' and was urged by Archbishop Whitgift to send it to press; but delays intervened, and Stow died without carrying out that design . . .

A portrait doubtfully said to be of Wolfe was drawn by Faithorne, and is reprinted in Ames's 'Typographical Antiquities.' Wolfe left two sons, John and Robert, and a daughter, married to the printer John Harrison, who was one of those responsible for the issue of Holinshed's 'Chronicles.' Wolfe's widow Joan carried on the business in 1574. Wolfe's apprentices included Henry Bynneman [q. v.] and John Shepperde. The latter subsequently used Wolfe's device of the brazen serpent.


Archived

Place/Date:
England / 1560 circa
Size:
17 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
54904