Читать книгу A Brief History of Printing in England. A Short History of Printing in England from Caxton to the Present Time онлайн

15 страница из 17

De Worde carried on the Caxton business from 1491 to 1534, at first in Caxton’s own shop, afterward in London (Westminster and London have now grown together, but at that time they were a considerable distance apart). During this time De Worde published over six hundred books. His books were cheap and poor in every way. De Worde was slow to start publishing. He published almost nothing for a couple of years after Caxton’s death. He appears to have lacked initiative and probably lacked capital. He seems to have discovered that there was money in cheap publications of a sort that catered to the popular taste, and he diligently worked that line of business. He appears to have made money, but cannot be credited with any higher type of success. He hired translators and editors and he evidently hired cheap ones, as the editorial work on his books is not good.

Pynson printed from 1492 to 1529. He did a much higher class of work than De Worde, although he is by no means eminent for his typography. He made less money than De Worde, but appears to have kept out of financial difficulties. His publications were mostly law books. He took over the business of Lettou and Machlinia, but had specialized in law books on becoming printer to the king in 1510. Pynson introduced the use of roman type in 1509, although it was some time before it displaced the gothic in common use. In 1523 to 1525 he printed Lord Berners’s translation of the “Chronicle” of Froissart. In literature this is a notable event. Froissart was really the first modern historian. The book marks the transition from the dry chronicles of the Middle Ages to history proper.