The printers' success was limited - up to 100 licensed competitors ran as many as four presses each. The picture on the right shows the hand-press of Shakespeare's day. On the left is a typesetter at work.

Between 1580 and 1603, London's printers pressed 4,370 titles. This equals an impressive rate of about one every two days.

London's bookstalls were therefore well stocked with titles ranging from from religion to law, from education to poetry. [click here to read previous page]