Fallout

Robert Barker was fined £300 as a result of the misprint. With inflation, this ends up being almost £50000 today, but Barker never paid the fine. Instead, he was commissioned to create a Greek letter font, though it is unclear if he ever followed through. Barker was allowed to retain his position as King’s Printer until his death, despite the fine and his later incarceration.

Though he kept his position, this was the beginning of a series of misfortunes in Robert Barker’s life. Over the next five years, Robert’s first and second wife as well as two of his sons, Christopher being one of them, died of various causes. Barker had to sell his shares of the King’s Printing House in 1635 and was put into the King’s Bench Prison the same year as a debtor. He would spend the rest of his life in jail, passing away ten years later in 1645.