“The Iconography of A Book of Christian Prayers (1578) Illustrated” by Samuel Chew

CITATION: Chew, Samuel C. "The Iconography of "a Book of Christian Prayers" (1578) Illustrated."Huntington Library Quarterly. 8.3 (1945): 293-305. Print.
Understanding

• Question: What do the woodcut illustrations of A Book of Christian Prayers reveal about their production?
• Answer: John Daye and his son, Richard, gradually but haphazardly replaced woodcuts in opposition to possible subjects for Catholic adoration.
• Method: Chew analyzes successive editions of A Book of Christian Prayer for subject, substitutions, order, and maintenance.
• Assumptions: Chew presumes that Daye's entire illustrative crew was Dutch or German. Chew also assumes that John Daye exercised strong control over the illustrative content under his son's purview until his death.
• Sententiae: "In the Booke of Christian Prayers of 1578 the iconographical scope has been immensely enlarged, in fact, enhanced greater than in any French Houre I have ever seen... Intelligent supervision is at work. Richard Daye (or whoever was in charge in 1578--and it was probably he) made two drastic changes in the sequence [removing the central Pieta, substituting the Maries visiting the Tomb], changes which are not without interest doctrinally and were perhaps forced upon him by authority. " (299)

Overstanding

• Assessment: Solid bibliographic work, though  underdeveloped in its conclusions.
• Synthesis: Chew's work must now be read in light of Evenden and Freeman, for further clarity on Daye's labor force, his political restrictions--which I believe were more shaped by aspiration than decree--and his working relationship with Richard.
• Application: Chew's work does not directly address any items on my list, but it does provide a cursory glance into the shop of Daye and a general window onto the religious iconography surrounding Gascoigne, Sidney, and Spenser.