John Playford (contributor)
John Playford was born in 1623 in Norwich, England. He served an apprenticeship
with publisher John Benson from 1639/40 to 1647 before opening a shop in the
porch of Temple Church in London, where he lived with his wife Hannah. During
the English Civil War, as a Royalist sympathizer, he was reportedly captured and
advised to change his career, which led him to focus on music publishing, most
notably with The English Dancing Master, containing popular tunes and
instructions for English country dances. Playford became a dominant figure in
music publishing under the Commonwealth and...
