John Wolfe (printer)

John Wolfe (printer)

John Wolfe (1548? – 1601) was an English bookseller and printer. His considerable ambition (he allegedly compared his attempts to reform the English printing trade to Martin Luther's efforts at reforming Christianity) and his disdain for the printing patent system of Elizabethan England drew the ire of his competitors and authorities in his early career. After being jailed twice and having his printing materials seized, Wolfe transformed himself into an ardent defender of printing privileges. By 1593, he was appointed Printer to the City of London.