“Welcome the Wight that Bringeth Such Light”

By Steve Ferguson

This is the device of a bookseller, John Wight, who traded at the Sign of the Rose in St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, between 1549 and 1589.  He’s holding a book titled Scientia.

This might be called a “canting” device (i.e., an emblematic design akin to a merchant’s mark), given the pun on the surname: “Welcome the Wight that bringeth such light.”