Printed by Alice Broade: the career of York's first female printer, 1661-1680

Alice Broad was York’s first female printer and, for a time, the only printer in York following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1661. Very little is known about Broad, and this chapter draws on archival research from the holdings of York Minster Library, which houses eleven of her seventeen extant publications. Broad’s career also underwrites the later development of York’s print trades. Alice’s tools and presses went with Hannah Broad into her marriage with John White and became the foundation of his own extremely successful printing business. Alice Broad was among White’s first collaborators in York and both she and her daughter would have provided the future ‘printer to their Royal Majesties’ (William and Mary) with materials, expertise, and connections in the regional trade. The unique position of York forms an important backdrop to Broad’s career as a city that is both central and regional. This chapter is the first in-depth exploration of her career in the history of York’s print trades.