Early Printed BooksDuff, E. Gordon (Edward Gordon)
History
Early Printed Books
Duff, E. Gordon (Edward Gordon)
Incunabula -- Bibliography; Printing -- History -- Origin and antecedents
In the Holborn type there are a larger number of books, at least
fourteen being known. Of these the best known and most common is the
_Speculum Christiani_, supposed, from the occurrence of the name in a
manuscript copy, to have been compiled by one Watton. It is interesting
as containing specimens of early poetry. Another book was popular
enough to run through three editions; this was the _Treatise on the
Pestilence_, written by Kamitus or Canutus, bishop of Aarhuus. It is
impossible to say when it was printed, or whether some panic connected
with the plague caused a run upon it. One of the editions must have
been almost the last book which Machlinia issued, for it contains the
title-page already referred to. The most important book in this set
in point of size is the _Chronicles of England_, of which only one
perfect copy is known. In the copy in the British Museum occurs a
curious thing. The book is a folio, but two of the leaves are printed
as quarto. In this type are three law-books, _Year-Books_ for years 34
and 37 of Henry VI., and the _Statutes_ of Richard III. There are also
two school-books, the _Vulgaria Terentii_ and an interesting _Donatus_
in folio, whose existence is known only from duplicate copies of one
leaf. The remaining books are theological, and comprise two separate
_Nova Festa_, or services for new feasts; one for the Visitation of
the Virgin, the other for the Transfiguration of our Lord. These
services were almost at once incorporated in the general volume of the
_Breviary_, so that in a separate form they are very uncommon. The last
book to be mentioned is the _Regulæ et ordinationes_ of Innocent VIII.,
which must have been printed some time after 23rd September 1484, when
that pope was elected. Of a later date still is a _Bull_ of the same
pope relating to Henry VII.’s title and marriage. It must have been
printed after 7th November 1485 (the date of Parliament), and after 2nd
March 1485-86 (the date of the _Bull_).
Another book should be mentioned here, which, though it cannot with
certainty be ascribed to any known English printer, resembles most
of all the work of Machlinia. It is an English translation by Kay of
the Latin description of the _Siege of Rhodes_, written by Caorsin; a
small folio of twenty-four leaves. Many of the letters seem the same as
Machlinia’s, but with variations and modifications.
The number of founts of type used in this office throughout its
existence was eleven, and of these two are very peculiar. One of the
larger sets of type seems to have been obtained from Caxton, but it was
hardly used at all. Another set of capital letters, which must have
been obtained from abroad, occur in some of the latest books. They bear
no resemblance to anything used by any other printer, and look rather
as though they belonged to a fount of Roman type.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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