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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Some time within this bloody half-century the art of printing was introduced into England. There is in existence a book printed in Oxford and dated on the title page 1468. Upon the existence of this book, and upon a somewhat doubtful legend, has been built a claim that English printing originated in Oxford. This claim, however, has practically ceased to be maintained. The legend appears to be baseless, and it has been generally concluded that the date is a misprint and that it should be 1478, an X having been dropped in writing the Roman date, a not uncommon error in publications of this period. Historians have now generally agreed that the introduction of printing in England is due to William Caxton, one of the most interesting figures in the whole annals of printing.

Caxton was born in the Weald, or wooded land, of Kent, a place of simple people and uncouth speech, about 1421. As a boy he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a prominent mercer or silk merchant of London. On the death of Large, not many years later, Caxton went to Bruges, in Belgium, then part of the territory of the Dukes of Burgundy, and became connected with the so-called English “Nation” or “House.” This was a chartered company of merchant adventurers similar to the companies which later settled certain portions of North America and to the famous East India Company. Caxton appears to have been successful in business and became Governor of the English “Nation” in 1462.