William Leake I (d. 1633; fl. 1592–1633)

LEAKE (WILLIAM), senior, bookseller in London, 1592–1633; (i) The Crane in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1593; (2) The White Greyhound in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1596; (3) The Holy Ghost, St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1602–18. This stationer was one of Francis Coldock’s apprentices and was admitted to the freedom of the Company on October 6th, 1584 [Arber, ii. 693], and into the Livery on July 1st, 1598 [Arber, ii. 873]. William Leake’s first book entry is found on February 17th, 159¹/₂ but that he was in business as a bookseller very much earlier than this is shown by the entry of a fine for keeping open his shop on holydays on October 24th, 1586 [Arber, ii. 859]. In 1592 he is found at the Crane in St. Paul’s Churchyard, previously in the occupation of Richard Oliffe or Olive. In 1596 John Harrison the elder assigned to William Leake his rights in Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis, and Leake was the publisher of the 1602 edition. At the same time he appears to have moved from the Crane into Harrison’s premises, the White Greyhound. In 1602 he obtained the copyrights of Gabriel Cawood, which included Southwell’s St. Peter's Complaint, John Lyly’s Euphues, Thomas Watson’s Hekatompathia or Century of Love, and an edition of Boethius [Arber, iii. 2 10]. Leake served the office of Junior Warden in the years 1604 and 1606, and of Upper Warden in 1610 and 1614. He held shares in the Latin and Irish Stocks of the Company, and his share in the Irish Stock was the subject of a law suit in the Court of Chancery in 1653 [Library, July, 1907, p. 295]. On February 16th, 1617, William Leake assigned over practically all his copyrights to William Barret [Arber, iii. 603]. In July, 1618, he was elected Master of the Company, and after serving his year of office, he retired from business and settled in the county of Hereford, He died on April 3rd, 1633. William Leake was married four times and William Leake, junior, was his eldest son [Chan. Proc., Mitford, 53, 57]. On July 1st, 1635, his widow transferred to her son William Leake, junior, her rights in six copies that had previously belonged to his father.