Peter Short was a London printer of the later Elizabethan era. He printed several first editions and early texts of Shakespeare's works. Short became a "freeman" of the Stationers Company on 1 March 1589, and operated his own business from that year until his death; he was partnered with Richard Yardley until 1593. His shop was at the sign of the star on Bread Street Hill. About a third of his titles involved translations from Latin or contemporary European languages. Short began publishing music in 1597; he issued Thomas Morley's A Plaine and Easy Introduction and both Canzonets, Dowland's First Book of Songs, Holborne's Cittharn School, and Hunnis's Seven Sobs. Short used type which was passed on and used by his successors. In an era when the functions of publisher and printer were often largely separate, Short was primarily a printer and only secondarily a publisher; he printed just over 170 works in his career, and the publishers of about 100 are known. Short likely published a good portion of the others himself. Apart from Shakespeare's works, Short's most important printing tasks were: the famous 1600first edition of William Gilbert's De Magnete; the 1601 edition of the Annals of John Stow; and the completion of the fifth edition of the Acts and Monuments, or Book of Martyrs of John Foxe. He also printed the first edition of Marlowe's translation of Lucan's Pharsalia for Thomas Thorpe. Regarding Shakespeare, Short printed:
The second edition of The Rape of Lucrece, for John Harrison. This was the first edition of that poem in octavo rather than quarto format.
The fifth edition of Venus and Adonis, for William Leake; the third octavo edition.
For Cuthbert Burby, Short printed Palladis Tamia by Francis Meres, a book that contains an important early reference to Shakespeare and a list of his plays performed up to 1598. Short printed a few non-Shakespearean play texts as well:
For Burby, Short printed Q1 and Q2 of The Taming of a Shrew, the early alternative version of Shakespeare's The Shrew.
For Simon Waterson, he printed the third, 1598 edition of Samuel Daniel's Cleopatra.
And for William Holme, Short printed one of the three editions of Jonson'sEvery Man Out of His Humour that appeared in a single year, 1600.
Short's connection with the Shakespeare canon has led scholars to study his printed output and learn details of the workings of his shop, including the compositors he employed. After his 1603 death, Short's widow continued his business; she married Humphrey Lownes, another member of the Stationers Company, in 1604.
