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English music publisher, bookseller, and composer renowned for preserving English country dances.A pivotal figure in 17th-century English music publishing, Playford compiled 'The English Dancing Master' (1651), a seminal collection that standardized and popularized country dances across Britain. His publications sustained musical culture during the Puritan Interregnum when public performances were restricted.

• During the English Civil War, Playford sided with Parliamentarians and served as a clerk for the court abolishing episcopacy, leveraging his political ties to continue publishing music despite Puritan restrictions.
• He miraculously survived the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666, relocating his shop repeatedly while continuing to produce influential music collections.
• After the Restoration, he became the official music seller to Charles II, securing royal patronage that boosted his business prestige.
• His death at age 63 followed decades of prolific output; he was buried at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, though the exact cause remains undocumented.
• Playford's son Henry expanded the business posthumously, with later editions of 'The Dancing Master' growing to include over 1,000 dances under the Playford imprint.