TYPOGRAPHIC TECHNICAL SERIES FOR APPRENTICES—PART VIII, NO. 53 A BRIEF HISTORY _of_ PRINTING IN ENGLAND A SHORT HISTORY OF PRINTING IN ENGLAND FROM CAXTON TO THE PRESENT TIME BY FREDERICK W. HAMILTON, LL.D. EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA [Illustration] PUBLISHED BY THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA 1918 COPYRIGHT, 1918 UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA CHICAGO, ILL. Composition and electrotypes contributed by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY Philadelphia PREFACE The treatment of the material used in this volume will be found somewhat different from that adopted in the two preceding. The narrower field of inquiry makes possible a closer following of the ordinary chronological method of arrangement rather than the topical method of the other volumes. An attempt is made to trace the history of printing in England through the centuries from Caxton to Morris and to include some insight into legal regulations, trade conditions, and industrial development generally. As before, it is to be remembered that this is a primer, a book of introductions. No attempt, therefore, is made to go far into details or to discuss disputed points or to include any considerable amount of technical detail. It is hoped that the reader will get a comprehensive view of the subject, will feel its human interest, and will catch some glimpse of its larger relation to the general history of the time. 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. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE THE ENGLISH PIONEERS 7 CHAPTER II THE REGULATION OF THE INDUSTRY AND THE COMPANY OF STATIONERS 18 CHAPTER III JOHN DAY AND THE DARK AGES OF ENGLISH PRINTING 34 CHAPTER IV THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 49 CHAPTER V