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

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The writer has consulted a considerable range of authorities, a few of the more accessible of which are cited in the short list of books for supplementary reading. Mention should be made of the very excellent study of John Baskerville, privately printed by Col. Josiah H. Benton, of Boston. This book may perhaps be found in the larger public libraries. Here, as always, it is to be regretted that although much has been written on the subject of printing and of the history of printing a good general history of the subject is still greatly to be desired.

PRINTING IN ENGLAND

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England was slow to take up printing and slow and backward in the development of it. It was 25 years after the invention of printing before any printing was done in England. It was many years after that before the work of the English printers could compare with that done on the continent. The reason for this is to be found in the conditions of the country itself. Although the two great universities had long been in existence, Oxford dating back to 1167 and Cambridge to 1209, England as a whole was a backward country. In culture and the refinements of civilization, as well as in many more practical things, England was not so far advanced as the rest of Europe nor was it to be so for many years to come.