Bishop, George (c. 1538-1611), bookseller and publisher

Bishop served his apprenticeship to Elizabeth Toy from 1556 to 1562. His early career was spent working with London bookseller Lucas Harrison to import unbound books and maps from Antwerp. Bishop and Harrison appear in the records of Antwerp printer Christophe Plantin, visiting and buying books from the famed Plantin printing house. Bishop was one of very few British booksellers to sell at the Frankfurt bookfair and was listed in the Frankfurt catalogues 1594-1605. He was an important publisher at home too, and was involved in the production and costs of major works including, John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments, John Stow’s Annals of England, as well as editions from Ralphael Holinshed, William Camden, and Richard Hakluyt. Bishop was a dedicated member of the Stationers’ Company. He was elected to the livery in 1568 and served as Master five times: 1590, 1592, 1600, 1602, and 1608; and was twice elected to serve remaining terms when an incumbent Master died (1593, 1603). Between 1588 and 1599, he managed the Queen’s printing house as Christopher Barker’s deputy. Bishop’s will, proved in 1611, left his property in Shropshire to the Company as well as money for the Company’s poor.

Bookseller and Publisher (1562-1611); Master (1590-1591; 1592-1593; 1600-1601; 1602-1603; 1608-1609)

Mary Cawood (wife); Martha Bishop (daughter)

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography