originally a tradesman who had a station or shop, as distinct from an itinerant vendor, formerly a book-seller, or publisher, or both, but now only a tradesman who sells writing materials.

Publisher of books. Stationers belonged to a guild (the Worshipful Company of Stationers) which the government established and supervised in order to guard against the publication of subversive books or books unduly critical of the Crown. When one stationer acquired the rights to publish copies of a book, the other members were bound to respect this "copy right," preparing the way for modern copyright laws.