Mary Cooper

Mary Cooper operated as a trade printer working out of London from 1743 to 1761. Because trade printers rarely held copyright for their work and were often at the mercy of those contracting them, printers like Cooper generally had somewhat eclectic titles to their names. Cooper is known primarily for her work in printing children’s books and one of the earliest known collections of nursery rhymes Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song-Book which was printed in 1744. She also printed a variety of addresses, influential documents such as A true copy of the last will and testament of Her Grace, Sarah Marlborough which is displayed here, and an erotic novel titled A Secret History of Pandora’s Box.