Main (Thompson) Library location: Class of '51 Reading Room. Few records exist to document the early life of Hugh Singleton (c. 15-- – 1593). It is known, however, that he spent the majority of his life in London, with the exception of periods abroad in Germany. Before becoming a printer, Singleton worked as a bookseller who aimed primarily to find publishers for the books of Reformation figures, such as John Foxe and John Knox. He also took issue with the Marian and Northumberland regimes by having The Copie of a Pistle or Letter Sent to Gilbard Potter and De vera obedientia published. By 1555, Singleton began to print books independently, and shortly thereafter he published two even more controversial works, each criticizing the proposed marriage of Elizabeth I to the Duke of Anjou: A Discoverie of a Gaping Gulf and The Shepheardes Calendar. Accordingly, in 1581, Singleton and his publishing partners were arrested and convicted of conspiracy to incite sedition; however, due to his connection to the Earl of Leicester, Singleton alone was acquitted of the decided penalty – the amputation of the right hand. In 1584, Singleton became Printer to the City of London and worked until his death in 1593 printing official city documents. Singleton's mark in the Vassar Library is comprised of the initials H.S. capped by a four-mark. There are other variations of his mark, in which this monogram appears over a single "tun." This barrel both signifies the time he spent trading at the sign of the Golden Tun in London, but also creates a rebus, or an allusion to words through the visual representation of sounds and syllables, suggesting his surname. The monogram and rebus are then surrounded by the phrase, "God is my helper."