All the Workes of Iohn Taylor the Water-Poet
- Title
- All the Workes of Iohn Taylor the Water-Poet
- Heading
- A Ferryman in Folio
- Description
-
John Taylor, known as the ‘Water-Poet’, built his literary reputation through print. Originally a labouring-class Thames boatman, Taylor became one of the most prolific and recognisable writers of early seventeenth-century England, publishing poems, pamphlets, travel narratives, satire, and polemical works aimed at a broad readership.
This imposing folio edition of Taylor’s collected Workes, published in 1630, gathers together a remarkable range of material previously issued in smaller and more ephemeral formats. By assembling these writings into a substantial collected volume, Taylor sought to secure literary permanence and social legitimacy. The folio format associated his work with more prestigious scholarly and literary publications, elevating texts that had often first appeared as cheap pamphlets.
Taylor was acutely aware of the commercial possibilities of print culture. His writings frequently reflect on authorship, publicity, and the ability of print to preserve a writer’s name beyond death. He promoted his own publications energetically, financing some of his works by using forms of advance subscription. His career therefore illustrates the increasingly dynamic literary marketplace of seventeenth-century London, where print enabled writers outside traditional elite or courtly circles to achieve visibility and influence. - Author
- John Taylor
- Place of Publication
- London
- Publisher
- Printed by John Beale, Elizabeth Allde, Bernard Alsop, and Thomas Fawcett, for James Bowler
- Date of Publication
- 1630
- Format
- Folio
- Century
- 17th
- Illustrations
- Engraving