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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 1. |
Henry Butler was a printer in Birmingham between about 1719 and 1758, when an Esther Butler (his widow or daughter) took over the business. Butler was particularly a printer of ballads, such as Cupid's Cabinet Open'd (above and continued below) and ephemeral items, rather than books, and produced prints of Newcomen's steam engine in the late 1720s. His print shop was on New Street, probably tucked between the New Street entrance to the Swan Hotel, and what later became the Fountain Inn, not far from High Street.
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| Held at Birmingham Archive. |
The Newcomen engine print was owned by Birmingham historian Samuel Timmins and reproduced in
The Engineer in 1879 (28 Nov). Whether this was Butler's print is uncertain, but Butler probably copied an earlier version. This was before Birmingham became known for steam power through the partnership between Matthew Boulton and Scottish innovator James Watt. There was still a local interest in new technologies in the 1720s, though.
Local poet, William Shenstone, looked to Butler for his printing needs: ‘I had & have some Thoughts of having my Ballad printed by Butler at Birmingham on ye same Paper & in ye same form wᵗʰ common Ballads. To be call’d ‘James Dawson’s Garland.’ but lest this shou’d happen I beseech yʳ Ladyship to make a secret of its author’.* If Shenstone ever printed this ballad, it has not been found.
Following are the rest of the pages from Cupid's Cabinet Open'd. Click on the pages to enlarge.
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 2. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 3. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 4. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 5. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 6. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 7. |
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| Cupid's Cabinet, p. 8. End of book. |
Other Printers:
Nᵒ.1 Thomas Unwin;
Nᵒ.3 Thomas Warren;
Nᵒ.4 Thomas Aris
NOTES
* Letter from William Shenstone to Lady Luxborough, 18 April 1748.
More on the Butler ballads here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/birming1.htm
In 1769 Esther Butler & Co. took on William Wild as an apprentice printer for £2.10s. Esther Butler possibly died in 1779.
