Henry Roberts

Who is Henry Roberts?

Henry Roberts was an English engraver, printseller and music publisher operating from London in the 18th century.

In 1739 he published a work called Calliope or English Harmony, which he described as:

a collection of the most celebrated English and Scots songs, neatly engrav'd and embelish'd with designs adapted to the subject of each song taken from the compositions of the best masters, in the most correct manner with the thorough bass and transpositions for the flute proper for all teachers, scholars, and lovers of musick; printed on a fine paper, on each side which renders the undertaking more compleat than any thing of the kind ever publish'd

The composer Thomas Arne lodged a Bill of Complaint with the Chancery in 1741, claiming that Henry Roberts and John Johnson had infringed his musical copyright by publishing some of his theatrical songs. The matter was settled out of court, the first known case of a composer asserting intellectual copyright.