ABSTRACT
The collapse of crown authority in London in 1641-2 and the subsequent outbreak of civil war had far-reaching consequences for the book trade. The oligarchs were open to many fashionable criticisms. Their control of the trade rested on the authority of the crown expressed through the courts of Star Chamber and High Commission, both abolished in the first phase of reform in 1641. Their economic power was reinforced by the Court of Assistants’ effective control of the English Stock which, like other monopolies, was coming under attack. Within the trade there was a growing group of malcontents, economically disadvantaged and politically alienated, who were attracted to the anti-royalist groups which had come to dominate the House of Commons. Indeed, many livery companies experienced similar difficulties at this time.1 In this situation, it is hardly surprising that the Assistants came under intense pressure to reform the Company.
