Robert Robinson (d. 1597; fl. 1583–1597)

ROBINSON (ROBERT), printer in London, 1583–97; (1) Fetter Lane, Holborn; (2) St. Andrew’s, Holborn. There is no record of this stationer’s apprenticeship or freedom in the Registers of the Company. The earliest notice of him occurs in the proceedings taken in 1585 by Francis Flower and his assigns against T. Dunn and Robert Robinson for illegally printing the Accidence. In his answer Robinson said that he had been apprenticed to a printer for eight years, and had been working as a journeyman for a further term of five years, so that he must have been out of his time about 1580 [Arber, ii. 796–800]. His first book entry was made in the Registers on September 22nd, 1586 [Arber, ii, 457], but Mr. Arber states that a book called the Sum of Christianity was printed by him in 1585 [Arber, v. 139]. In 1588 Robinson bought the printing stuff of Henry Middleton from his widow, including three printing presses with sundry sorts of letters and other necessaries, certain copies of books and Letters Patent, for the sum of £200 [Library, January, 1909, p. 103]. He was frequently fined for disorderly printing [Arber, ii. 821, 826, 860, 862]. The last book entry under his name occurs on May 11th, 1597 [Arber, iii. 84]. His widow afterwards married Richard Braddock [Arber, iii. 702].